The Italian authors’ society SIAE (Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori) has announced that it will begin paying royalties from advertising revenue to music creators and publishers. While the first distributions were initially expected in 2025, SIAE has confirmed the rollout will begin in January 2026.

This is a major development for both Italian and international rightsholders. Until now, royalties collected by SIAE focused on traditional sources such as concerts, radio, TV, and digital uses. Including advertising revenue opens the door to a significant new income stream for composers, songwriters, and publishers whose music is used in commercial content.

Importantly, this change benefits not only Italian members of SIAE. Music created outside Italy but used in Italian advertisements or on platforms monetized with ads will now generate income. That means international composers whose works are licensed or played in Italy will also start receiving compensation through this system.

SIAE’s move also sends a strong signal to other collecting societies around the world. As advertising continues to play a major role in how music is used online, more societies are expected to follow Italy’s lead and expand their royalty distributions to include this important revenue stream.

At Copyright Power International, we fully support this shift. We see it as a step toward greater transparency, fairness, and alignment with how music is actually consumed and monetized in the modern landscape. We will continue to follow this development closely and keep our partners informed on how it will affect their rights and income.