BumaStemra and Sena: How to Sign Up and Get Paid

Is your song on the radio, do you perform live or is your music on Spotify? If you're based in the Netherlands, there may be money waiting for you. It's collected by two organizations: BumaStemra and Sena. Each one does something different. Here's how it works and how to sign up.

What's the difference?

  • BumaStemra is for creators: songwriters and composers. It's about the song itself, so the lyrics and the music. Buma handles performance rights, like radio, TV and live shows. Stemra handles mechanical rights, like recordings on CD. BumaStemra also licenses streaming services such as Spotify and YouTube.
  • Sena is for performers and producers of a recording. So it's about the recording: who sings or plays on it, and who paid for it.

Note: by producer, Sena doesn't mean the beatmaker. It means whoever finances the recording and owns the master. If you release independently and pay for everything yourself, that can be you.

Do you write your own lyrics and also rap or sing them? Then BumaStemra recommends joining both.

Joining BumaStemra

You join online. You fill in your details and sign your contract digitally. Since January 1, 2025, the first year is free. After that you pay a yearly contribution as a creator, which is taken from your payouts. Check BumaStemra's site for the current terms.

Registering your songs

Once you've joined, you register your songs in MijnBumaStemra, under the Works tab. For each song you fill in:

  • the title
  • all rights holders, meaning everyone who wrote lyrics or music
  • the split in percentages

You have to list every writer, even if they're not with BumaStemra themselves. You don't add a publisher yourself. Publishers register their works on their own.

Register a new song right away. BumaStemra can only collect from the moment your work is registered. It takes about two weeks before it shows up as registered.

Rapping on a beat you bought?

Then you're not the only writer. The producer wrote the music, you wrote the lyrics. Check your beat license for an agreed split. If it doesn't say anything, talk to the producer before you register the song.

Joining Sena

Joining Sena is free. You sign up through MySena and send a signed agreement and a copy of your ID. Then you register your recordings, with the ISRC code and the details of the main artist and any session musicians. You usually get the ISRC code from your distributor. More on what an ISRC is in ISRC and UPC explained.

Sena pays out four times a year: in March, June, September and December. Sena doesn't collect for on-demand streaming. That money goes to the owner of the recording. If you release independently, it comes in through your distributor.

When is it worth it?

According to BumaStemra, joining makes sense if your songs are regularly played on radio or TV, if you often perform your own work live or if your music comes out on CD or DVD. You can sign up with Sena once your recordings have been played in public. Money from abroad can take one to two years to come in, according to BumaStemra.

Releasing soon?

FAQ

Is BumaStemra free?

The first year is free. After that there's a yearly contribution, taken from your payouts.

Does Sena cost money?

No, joining Sena is free.

Do I need to join both?

If you write your songs and also record them yourself, yes. BumaStemra covers the song, Sena covers the recording.

Source: the FAQ pages for music creators of BumaStemra and Sena.

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