Who are we?

Sabam is the Belgian association of authors, composers and publishers. It manages royalties for audiovisual works, literature, music, performing and visual arts.

Its goal is the collection and distribution, administration and management (in the broadest sense of the word) of all authors' rights in Belgium and in the other countries where reciprocity agreements have been concluded (with our sister associations, i.e. with the other collective management organisations worldwide).

The private company Sabam is a collective management organisation that has adopted the legal form of a limited liability cooperative company (in Belgium: CVBA). It is therefore not a ministry or semi-governmental organisation.

The company that was founded in 1922 at the initiative of a number of authors today represents thousands of authors from all disciplines. Sabam is frequently associated only with music, but prides itself in it multidisciplinary character. It represents composers, text writers, publishers, playwrights, choreographers, directors, scriptwriters, dialogue writers, radio makers, translators, novelists, poets, cartoonists, illustrators, journalists, sculptors, painters, video filmers, photographers, graphic artists, etc.

This multidisciplinarity makes our association virtually unique worldwide.

Our mission

Connecting creation to value.

Our vision

The vision states where the organisation aims to be in the medium term:

• Understanding, effectively communicating, and clearly explaining the value generated by the various uses of our members' creative work, both now and in the future.
• Proactively contributing to the global realisation of this value for the benefit of all stakeholders, while ensuring that a fair share of it is obtained by and shared with our members in an efficient, prompt, transparent, and sustainable manner.
• Embracing an open culture of collaboration where the personal development of our staff and the success of Sabam go hand in hand.

Our values

The values state how we as individual employees practice the company's vision. We perform our activities in line with six basic values:

Respect

Respect is a fundamental element of the organisation. Sabam and its employees respect one another's personality and background, and oppose prejudice and intolerance.

Team spirit

1+1=3. Everyone with his or her own talent brings out the best in everyone. Team spirit means lending one another a hand, when necessary, laughing and working together and putting the interests of the group before one's own interests.

Professionalism

Through its professionalism, Sabam strives to offer a clear added value to everyone concerned. Sabam offers tailor-made solutions to meet the identified needs and expectations.

Customer orientation

The Sabam approach guarantees fast and thorough service. Customers are received correctly, problems are solved and processes are adapted, where necessary, in order to better meet the needs of the customer.

Integrity

Sabam interprets integrity as acting in accordance with written and unwritten values and standards which express notions such as righteousness, immunity, honesty, care, good faith, dependability and credibility.

Responsibility

Sabam fulfils its obligations towards its shareholders and towards society as a whole in a responsible manner.