Suisa operates Ringier's Energy radios
As reported by the Sonntagszeitung in its latest issue, Suisa has sued Energy Schweiz for over 633,534.70 francs. Dani Büchi believes the Energy events are in jeopardy.
The background to the dispute is the payment of Suisa contributions for the "Stars for Free" events. Suisa is demanding more from Energy than the 300,000 francs that a Swiss radio station has to pay on average per year for the music rights. Energy boss Dani Büchi does not want to pay the surcharge for the concert events. According to Suisa Director General Andreas Wegelin, Büchi is fundamentally wrong. It is unacceptable for Energy to generate revenue from music events while the composers of the music receive nothing in return. In order for composers to be remunerated, there are calculation rules negotiated with the organizers' associations. As Büchi explained to the newspaper, there are now differences of opinion with Suisa regarding the events for which tickets are not available to buy. Energy is giving away tickets for all events (Werbewoche.ch reported). Büchi therefore had an appeal lodged against the debt collection. If Suisa persisted with its position, the Energy events would be in danger, said the Energy boss.
Büchi rejects the Sunday newspaper's accusation that the Energy Group is also known for its poor payment practices. Energy is a very demanding customer and demands flawless services and goods. "A vanishingly small fraction" of the cases could therefore only be resolved through a legal dispute. Out of 1600 creditors in the last two years, only four debt collections resulted in legal action - i.e. only 0.25 percent. (hae)
