Guides

Music publishing in Switzerland

How music publishing actually works in Switzerland: who claims which rights, what the national copyright system does, and what it takes for a publisher to set up and collect.

Who claims which rights

Performance and mechanical: SUISA (also covering Liechtenstein). Sync: direct.

Copyright registration in Switzerland

Automatic under Berne; no registry.

Setting up to claim publishing rights

SUISA admits foreign publishers directly; Switzerland is usually bundled into a GAS territory sub-publishing deal alongside Germany and Austria rather than entered alone.

The societies

SUISA — each linked page covers the society’s history and how registrations reach it.

Rules, fees, and society requirements change, and none of this is legal advice — confirm current requirements with the society or local counsel before committing. Registrations bound for Switzerland can be checked free on the validator · more: setting up country by country · which societies accept CWR.

Check a CWR file free — errors and warnings tied to the exact line, nothing stored: cwrcheck.com.