Swiss music bodies advise, fund and collect

Every money question in music has an address. Fees and contracts: SONART, the SMV and the SIG. Money for your projects: foundations such as FONDATION SUISA or Pro Helvetia. Money from the use of your music: SUISA and Swissperform. On top come umbrella bodies for clubs and associations for the industry.

Who represents me on fees and contracts?

SONART calls itself the largest professional association for musicians in Switzerland.[1] It represents musicians in politics and society.[1] Members get advice on finances, careers and insurance.[1]

SONART also publishes fee recommendations. The levels are called MinimumPay and FairPay.[1] They are not binding minimum fees, the association stresses.[1] They serve as a basis for negotiating. And as a basis for budgets in funding applications.[1]

The SMV (Swiss Musicians' Union) is the musicians' trade union.[2] It brings together members of professional orchestras and freelancers of every style.[2] In orchestras it negotiates collective labour agreements.[2] For freelancers there are contracts and fee scales.[2] Members get legal advice and legal aid.[2]

The SIG (Swiss cooperative of performing artists) is there for performers. It gives free advice on recording performances and how they are used.[3]

Where do I get money for a recording, a tour or export?

It starts with a search. kulturfoerderung.ch lists private and public funding addresses.[4] The database is run by the Federal Office of Culture and Migros-Kulturprozent.[4]

FONDATION SUISA funds current music from Switzerland and Liechtenstein.[5] It supports projects by songwriters, composers and performers.[5] The condition: no third party has a commercial interest.[5]

Pro Helvetia funds professional current and contemporary music.[6] It gives grants for new works.[6] And for festivals abroad that feature bands from Switzerland.[6] Tours within Switzerland are not funded.[6]

Swiss Music Export supports activities abroad.[7] The focus is on Europe and on pop in the widest sense.[7] As of October 2026, the maximum is CHF 1,500 per application.[7] For a plain tour abroad, SME refers you to Pro Helvetia, FONDATION SUISA and the SIS.[7]

The SIS (Swiss foundation for performing artists) supports gigs and tours.[8] It pays towards further training. And it helps in financial hardship.[8] Its offer is for performers, professional and amateur alike.[8]

The Stiftung Phonoproduzierende (the record producers' foundation) only funds projects that strengthen the role of recordings in cultural life.[9] As a rule, it does not pay directly towards a recording.[9]

The Stiftung für Radio und Kultur Schweiz funds projects directly linked to radio and culture in Switzerland.[10] These include programmes, productions and competitions.[10]

Migros-Kulturprozent awards grants to cultural and social initiatives.[11]

The Fondation CMA supports current music in French-speaking Switzerland.[12] It offers funding programmes, advice, training and networking.[12]

Who collects money for me?

SUISA and Swissperform, two collecting societies, do that (they collect royalties and distribute them to the rights holders).[13]

SUISA represents songwriters, composers and publishers. If you write music or lyrics, you sign a management agreement with it.[14] It then collects when the music is broadcast, performed or copied.[14] You register your works with SUISA yourself.[14]

Swissperform handles neighbouring rights. These are the rights of performers, labels, film producers and broadcasters.[13] The money comes from secondary uses of these performances.[13]

This is where the SIG comes back in. Swissperform has handed some distribution work to it.[13] Is your performance on radio or TV? You report the broadcast to the SIG.[3]

Which umbrella body does my club belong to?

Amateur music has its own umbrella bodies.

The Schweizer Blasmusikverband (Swiss wind band association) brings together 30 associations with 1,972 clubs.[15] It calls itself the largest amateur association in Switzerland.[15] In the Principality, the Liechtensteiner Blasmusikverband has ten clubs.[16]

The Schweizerische Chorvereinigung SCV is the umbrella body for secular choirs.[17] It covers around 1,357 choirs.[17] Its choirs benefit from a SUISA collective agreement and model contracts.[17]

The Eidgenössischer Jodlerverband covers yodelling, alphorn and büchel playing, and flag throwing.[18] It offers training and further training.[18]

The Eidgenössischer Orchesterverband is the association of amateur orchestras in classical music.[19] Around 190 orchestras are members, including some 40 youth orchestras.[19] It makes their SUISA statements easier.[19]

accordeon.ch is the umbrella body of the Swiss accordion scene.[20] It focuses on young players, education and advocacy.[20]

The Schweizerischer Tambouren- und Pfeiferverband brings together four regional associations. They include 174 drum and fife clubs.[21]

The Schweizerische Trachtenvereinigung is an umbrella body for folk traditions.[22] Committees look after folk song and folk dance.[22]

Your club's committee knows which association you belong to.

Who represents the industry?

The Schweizer Musikrat (Swiss Music Council) is the umbrella organisation for music in Switzerland.[23] As of October 2026, it has 52 member organisations.[23] Through them it represents more than 600,000 people making music.[23]

Labels have their own associations. IFPI Schweiz is the trade association of Swiss music labels.[24] You can also get ISRC codes for recordings there.[24] IndieSuisse has represented independent labels and producers since 2014.[25]

The SMPA brings together the major concert, show and festival promoters.[26] Its members sell around 80 per cent of these tickets in Switzerland.[26]

The SVMV represents music publishers.[27] Each member gets half an hour of legal advice a year.[27]

The Forum Filmmusik connects people who make music and sound design for film.[28] Members can use a cost calculator for film music budgets.[28]

HelvetiaRockt campaigns for equality of all genders in current music.[29] The association supports and connects professional musicians.[29]

For social security there is Suisseculture Sociale. Its social fund helps professional artists in financial hardship.[30] Its online guide Artists Take Action answers social security questions.[30]

What this means in practice

Part of the funding comes from the collecting societies' income. SUISA collects money for performing and broadcasting rights. Of every 100 francs, FONDATION SUISA gets 2.50.[5] At Swissperform, 10 francs in every 100 go to culture and social purposes.[13] That pot funds the SIS, among others.[8] Ten per cent of the record producers' royalties go to cultural funding.[9] That is where the Stiftung Phonoproduzierende gets its money.[9] Applying for funding means drawing on the industry's own pot. The directory shows who sits where.