SSA at a glance

SSA is a cooperative society of authors in the dramatic, dramatico-musical, choreographic, audiovisual and multimedia sectors. It protects its members’ economic rights subject to copyright in Switzerland and Liechtenstein and ensures that their moral rights are respected accordingly. It liaises between users and authors and offers support in situations requiring individual contracts. It sees to contracts being entered into in a legitimate and fair manner.

SSA manages performing rights, broadcasting rights, other public performance rights as well as reproduction rights assigned to it by its authors. It also fulfils the duties assigned by law to collective management organisations under the scope of the so-called mandatory collective management.

It is the main task of SSA to collect the remuneration which becomes due each time its members’ works are used and to subsequently forward them to the rights owners. Moreover, SSA also promotes its members’ interests in all areas which are relevant from a work usage aspect, and is represented in the relevant national and international organisations.

SSA has an authorisation for the rights administration of dramatic, dramatico-musical and choreographic works from the Swiss Federal Institute for Intellectual Property, (IPI).

Members: 3’808
Revenue: CHF 28.984m
Staff: 22 people (i.e. 18.15 full-time positions)
(numbers as of 2022)

As a cooperative, SSA is non-profit making. It is financed by a commission taken from the rights remuneration collected.

SSA has a cultural fund, a solidarity fund supporting members going through a difficult financial patch and a pension fund for its members. Read more

In Switzerland, SSA cooperates with Suissimage, SUISA, ProLitteris and Swissperform.

In order to be able to administer its members’ rights abroad, SSA has concluded contracts governing the reciprocal management of rights with foreign authors’ societies who are active in the same sector. In turn, SSA represents the members of those foreign societies in Switzerland.

SSA is linked with the Common Information System (CIS) of CISAC which serves the worldwide information exchange between collective management organisations.

SSA was founded by playwrights and film makers in Geneva on 30 November 1985. They had previously been members of the Swiss section of the French society SACD and deemed it necessary to create an independent Swiss organisation.

SSA began its activities on 1 January 1986. From the very beginning, it represented the repertoire of the French, Belgian and Canadian sections of SACD. SSA gradually concluded contracts with further foreign sister societies.
In 1990, SSA changed its headquarters from Geneva to Lausanne.
In 1997, SSA created a pension fund for its members.
In 1998, SSA and Suissimage signed a convention governing the administration of audiovisual rights in Switzerland.