Collective Rights Management in the UAE: A new Era for Music Right Protection

5 min 11 sec January 18, 2026 (Edited)

In early 2025, the Ministry of Economy and Tourism (“Ministry”) in the UAE granted license to the first music collective management organization (“CMO”) in the UAE, marking a significant and long-anticipated development for the country’s music industry. In April 2025, the Ministry granted the first license to Emirates Music Rights Association (“EMRA”), followed by Music Nation in June 2025. EMRA is a non-profit association, while Music Nation is a commercial entity. Both organizations have indicated that they will align their operations with international best practices.

In this article we will explore what CMOs are, how they function, why their presence is important in the UAE, and what practical steps businesses should now consider.

What is a CMO and how does it work

A Collective Management Society or Organization is an entity authorized by authors and other right holders to manage the licensing of copyright-protected works, collect royalties from users, and distribute those royalties to its members. In the context of music, the rights landscape is multi-layered and can be complex. A single piece of music typically engages at least two principal categories of rights: musical composition rights (covering, for example, the work of songwriters and composers) and sound recording rights (covering, for example, performers and producers). Moreover, each recording may involve multiple stakeholders, including songwriters, composers, performers, producers, broadcasters, and others.

With the different layers of rights and the multiple right holders, both lawful use and effective royalty collection can be challenging. This is where CMOs come to play, as it streamlines this process by acting as intermediary. Right holders authorize the CMO to license their works, after which the CMO grants licenses to users—such as online platforms, television channels, radio stations, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, and other venues—and collects royalties for the relevant uses. The CMO then distributes the collected royalties to right holders pursuant to its internal distribution rules. To ensure accurate and equitable remuneration, CMOs typically deploy monitoring and tracking technologies that identify musical works and measure usage across different channels. Blanket licensing is a common feature of CMO practice: users can obtain a single license covering the CMO’s repertoire, avoiding the need to negotiate individual licenses for each work.

Legal Framework In the UAE

In the UAE CMOs are regulated by the Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021 on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (“Copyright Law”) and the Cabinet Resolution No. (47) of 2022 Concerning the Executive Regulations of Federal Decree-Law No. (38) of 2021 on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (the “Implementing Regulations”). Article (32) of the Copyright Law, provides that right holders may assign their economic rights to competent professional associations for the management thereof, or authorize other entities to exercise such rights. Furthermore, Article (34) provides that any associations or entities may only practice the activity of copyright and Neighbouring Rights management only after obtaining a permit from the Ministry.

The Implementing Regulations provide the requirements for obtaining a permit, which include the submission of  (i) the form of the contract concluded between the CMO and right holder associates of the permit applicant, and the mechanism of distributing dividends to such associates; (ii) the form of agreements related to the financial collection between the CMO and any other beneficiary with the details of the financial agreement and the collection mechanism; and (ii) a report containing the relevant data and details, including financial rights, such as tables, statements etc. with beneficiaries and the mechanism of collection and distribution; among other requirements.

Pursuant to the Implementing Regulations, CMO has a number of ongoing obligations including, amongst others, the duty to; (i) submit annual reports to the Ministry, covering its members (right holders), funds collected, distributed amounts; a summary of key activities in which the Collective Management is involved; (ii) take all administrative and legal actions to protect rights of contracting parties; (iii) allow contracting parties to review final accounts and the method of dividend distribution; (iv) provide regular reports to right holders, showing entities that have used their works and amounts collected; (v) ensure financial return goes to authors or holders of neighbouring rights, as per the internal distribution mechanism; and (vi) limit administrative deduction to a maximum of 25% of total amounts collected.

What is changing for businesses and right holders?

The Copyright Law has long required that the use of protected works be authorized by right holders, and it provides mechanisms to enforce against unauthorized use. What changes with the licensing of EMRA and Music Nation is not the underlying legal requirement, but the accessibility, efficiency, and predictability of licensing and remuneration. For users of music, obtaining authorization should become materially simpler and more cost-effective through blanket licenses covering the CMO’s repertoire. For right holders, CMOs can materially improve detection of uses, accuracy of reporting, and timeliness of collections and distributions.

At the time of writing this article, neither EMRA nor Music Nation has started licensing or collecting royalties in the market yet. However, Music Nation has recently announced the launch of its website which facilitates the registrations by right holders and music users for licensing. It is therefore prudent for businesses that publicly perform or otherwise use music, such as hotels, restaurants, retail stores, shopping malls, broadcasters, digital platforms, event venues, gyms, and similar establishments, to review their current uses of music, assess their licensing position, and prepare to regularize any unlicensed uses through appropriate CMO licenses once tariffs and terms are published.

Practical Consideration

Businesses should anticipate outreach from CMOs once licensing frameworks and tariffs are finalized. Proposed license agreements and tariff schedules should be carefully reviewed to ensure that the scope of rights, reporting obligations, territorial coverage, audit provisions, technological measures, and fee structures align with operational needs and legal requirements. Furthermore, right holders considering membership should evaluate the CMO’s governance, distribution policies, administrative deductions, data transparency, reciprocity arrangements, and technological capabilities for monitoring and matching usage to works.

Conclusion

The introduction of licensed CMOs in the UAE is a milestone for the music ecosystem. Both EMRA and Music Nation have the potential to enhance compliance for users and deliver fairer, more efficient remuneration for right holders. As the licensing regimes become operational, both users and creators should position themselves to take advantage of the increased clarity and the infrastructure that CMOs bring to the market.