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Spain music authors condemn Last Tour Group over unpaid royalties
October31
Spain’s SGAE has pulled out of BIME and accused promoter Last Tour of years of unpaid royalties, escalating a long-running dispute over creators’ rights in the country’s live-music sector.
Spain’s authors’ rights society SGAE has issued a joint statement condemning concert and festival promoter Last Tour Group, accusing the company of “systematic non-payment” of music royalties and announcing it will boycott the 2025 edition of BIME, the industry conference organised by Last Tour.
The statement, signed by representatives of SGAE’s Music Authors’ Board and Music Publishers’ Board, says that despite “formal demands and numerous court rulings” in favour of SGAE, Last Tour “continues to refuse to pay the royalties generated by the public performance of musical works at its concerts and festivals.”
According to SGAE, this has resulted in “a million-euro debt” and caused “serious harm” to the authors and publishers represented by the organisation. The signatories called Last Tour’s behaviour “unacceptable,” adding that their withdrawal from BIME is “a sign of rejection of conduct that goes against the values of the music industry.”
“Without authors and composers, there is no music. Without music, there are no concerts,” the statement reads. “Respecting the rights of those who create it is not optional — it is an ethical and legal obligation.”
Last Tour — the Bilbao-based promoter behind Bilbao BBK Live, Azkena Rock Festival, and BIME — has previously criticised SGAE’s royalty tariff for live events, claiming it is higher than in other European countries. The company has not yet issued a public response to the latest statement.
The dispute highlights ongoing tensions in Spain between promoters and rights-management societies over royalty rates, which can reach 8.5 percent of gross ticket sales. Industry observers say the conflict could have broader implications for live-music licensing and event economics in the Spanish market.
SGAE’s decision to pull out of BIME — a major annual meeting point for the Ibero-American music sector — adds symbolic weight to the disagreement and signals a potential cooling of relations between the country’s main rights organisation and one of its most active independent promoters.
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