INDUSTRIES, MEDIA | AGCOM calls for compliance with statutory principles in negotiating licences for the online exploitation of musical works

On 17 December 2025, the Italian Communications Authority (AGCOM) adopted Resolution 322/25/CONS (Resolution), through which it issued a formal reminder of compliance, recalling that collective rights management organisations and users must conduct licensing negotiations in accordance with the principles laid down by Legislative Decree No. 35 of 15 March 2017.

In the Resolution, AGCOM acknowledges the increasingly frequent occurrence of critical issues in negotiations aimed at the conclusion of licensing agreements between the above parties, particularly in the context of live public performances of musical works and playing of recorded music within commercial premises (e.g. bars, restaurants, hotels). Against this background, AGCOM urges cooperation with a view to ensuring appropriate remuneration for rightholders.

The Resolution emphasises that negotiations must be conducted in good faith, in a transparent, reasonable and equitable manner. In this respect, AGCOM encourages collective rights management organisations to prioritise negotiations with the most representative trade associations, in order to facilitate the conclusion of collective agreements capable of ensuring legal certainty and uniform application of licensing conditions.

Furthermore, AGCOM calls upon collecting societies to enhance transparency by clearly disclosing upfront the applicable license fees and related calculation criteria, as well as by providing adequate information concerning their repertoire and representativeness.

According to the Resolution, licensing agreements should, inter alia, take due account of the following criteria (a) the economic size of the user; (b) the quantitative and qualitative scope of the use of protected works or related rights materials; (c) the relevance of such use in relation to the user’s core business, namely whether the use of musical works constitutes a fundamental asset of the activity carried out or is merely ancillary to the provision of other goods or services; (d) the presence or absence of a profit-making purpose in the user’s activity; and (e) the material impossibility or excessive burden for users in providing the information requested by collectings for licensing purposes.

Newsletter n. 115 – February 2026