TV music royalties scam unearthed

Nationwide channels such as TVE and regional stations – Telemadrid, Euskal Irrati Telebista (EITB) in the Basque Country, Castilla-La Mancha Televisión (CMM), Radiotelevisión Canaria, Televisión de Aragón, TPA from Asturias, and Murcia's 7RM – have been ordered to supply information.

Investigators refer to a corruption scam involving suspected fraud in charging royalties payable to composers whose music is played on programmes and slots, by making minor changes to tracks made by other artists and passing them off as being original works.

According to details of the case, the accused channels created 'poor-quality' music and registered 'false adjustments' to existing works already in the public domain, declaring them as the original pieces of other companies and individuals, and paying them for their use on screen during the night-time schedule, after the watershed.

The State arts agency, SGAE, says it has been attempting to 'combat this kind of fraud' for years, and is helping police and the court in Madrid with their inquiries.

According to the SGAE, the scandal dates back to around 2006 and covers a five-year period.

It says the investigation centres on over 120,000 of its members and at least one ex-worker.

Around 70% of the SGAE's income from royalties for music broadcast on TV comes from the late-night programming schedule, which only accounts for 1% of the viewers.

Back in February 2015, the SGAE approved a reform to end the use of 'doctored' music tracks during the night slot, having filed legal action against the practice in 2013 – a practice which may have netted around €50 million a year.