Rights & money
Taxes for bands in Germany: the three questions before the first invoice
Small-business status or not, freelance or trade, what to keep for the tax office — a band's three German tax questions, with the current thresholds and no tax Latin.
2026-09-07 · Evgeny E.
GEMA for musicians: what a band actually pays in Germany
The concert rates, the cost of membership, the reduced newcomer tariff — and when joining pays off. Germany's system, explained for the band standing in it.
2026-09-07 · Evgeny E.
KSK reporting in practice: the annual report, changes, leaving
The annual income report by 1 December, the change notification mid-year, the side job and the clean exit — the KSK routine once you are insured, each report done in minutes.
2026-09-07 · Evgeny E.
Selling merch at shows in Germany: the cash box and the one sheet
A cash box and one sheet per night are enough at a German merch table. What is allowed, how the nightly cash report works, and why merch money counts differently from the fee.
2026-09-07 · Evgeny E.
The Künstlersozialkasse: half your insurance, if Germany is home
The KSK covers roughly half the social insurance of self-employed artists in Germany. Who gets in, the three-year newcomer rule — and the estimate where sloppiness costs money.
2026-09-07 · Evgeny E.
GVL for musicians: money for your recordings, not your songs
Germany's second collecting society: who counts as a performer, what gets paid — and why the free contract pays nothing without your reports.
2026-09-07 · Evgeny E.
Split sheets: who owns the song when four people wrote it
One sheet of paper that replaces tomorrow's argument: who holds which share of the song, in writing, before the first release — and what the law decides when the sheet is missing.
2026-09-07 · Evgeny E.