GEMA distributes royalties in TV, radio broadcasting, live music and dance music, among other segments. Previously, broadcasting and use notifications were processed in a different software system to the distribution of remuneration and royalties to the authors, depending on the segment. To simplify the processes, adesso was commissioned in October 2015 to redesign the software for business processes in the live music segments as part of the Trinity project.
The main challenge of the project was to replace the outdated system and to record all notifications of musical performances subject to royalty payments for light music and serious music, such as at concerts, theatre and stage productions, and public events, in a new high-performance system. adesso developed a software solution within the twelve-month project period that supports all core processes ? from notification of music usage and allocation of a work to evaluation and distribution of the respective royalty to the author ? in an efficient manner. The system was designed to suit GEMA’s strategy: the previous, segment-based working method is to be replaced by a process-based method. To achieve this, it was essential to develop a joint, scalable web application.
adesso project manager, Gregor Böhme, describes the task as follows: “The existing GEMA systems were skilfully-developed segment-specific stand-alone solutions, but that means they were also highly specialised and therefore no longer viable in terms of the architecture. This is also particularly due to the increasing data volume that GEMA has to cope with.” Andreas Prenneis, member of the Executive Board, added: “The project is a perfect reference project for our expertise in ‘agile software development at a fixed price’. It was only possible in this form thanks to the high priority given to agility by GEMA’s IT management, headed by project manager Gabriel Vogel.”
GEMA is impressed with the project quality provided after a twelve-month development period. Member of the Managing Committee, Lorenzo Colombini, commented: “In adesso, we have found a partner who was able to implement our requests and ideas flexibly at all times. In the end, we were presented with a sophisticated solution on time that ensured a seamless transition from our old system to a new system.”
As this large project was carried out in a manner that matched the customer’s requirements in all regards, adesso has already received a follow-up order to reorganise and modernise the software in the radio broadcasting segment at GEMA.