The legal framework for podcasts: copyright protection and fair remuneration.

Podcasts are now an essential medium, popular with both independent creators and large media companies. However, despite their rapid growth, their legal framework remains uncertain.

In its report dated February 2025, the Conseil Supérieur de la Propriété Littéraire et Artistique (CSPLA) addresses these questions by concluding that the existing legal framework is sufficient, but that the remuneration of stakeholders in the sector needs to be rebalanced.

This article analyzes the CSPLA's conclusions by confronting the principles of the Intellectual Property Code (CPI) with the economic realities of the podcast market.

A. The podcast as a work protected by copyright.

Article L112-2 of the French Intellectual Property Code (CPI) lists the categories of works protected by copyright, including audiovisual, radio, and sound works.

A podcast can thus be legally qualified as an original sound work, which grants it automatic protection upon its creation.

From this perspective, a podcast can be legally recognized as:

- A collaborative work when it is created by several authors (screenwriters, journalists, directors). - A collective work when it is produced under the direction of a company that publishes the content under its name. - A composite work if it incorporates extracts from pre-existing works (music, sound archives, literary readings).

This qualification leads to the application of the author's exclusive rights, notably:

- The right of reproduction (article L122-3 of the CPI): any distribution of the podcast on a platform requires the agreement of the rights holder. - The right of performance (article L122-2 of the CPI): making a podcast available constitutes an act of communication to the public that requires the author's authorization.

B. Neighboring rights of performers in podcasts.

In addition to authors, performers (hosts, columnists, actors, regular guests) benefit from neighboring rights to copyright as defined by article L212-1 of the CPI.

- A moral right, which allows the artist to claim authorship of their performance and to oppose any modification prejudicing its integrity. - A pecuniary right, which guarantees remuneration in case of commercial exploitation of their performance.

However, the CSPLA emphasizes in its report ([1]) that these rights are still poorly applied in the podcast sector, where the remuneration of performers is often fixed and does not take into account re-broadcasts or secondary exploitations.

II. Still insufficient and deemed unbalanced remuneration.

While podcasts are legally protected subject to originality, their economic model remains fragile.

Today, three categories of stakeholders particularly suffer from a lack of equitable remuneration:

- Authors (screenwriters, directors, concept creators). - Performers (hosts, columnists, guests). - Podcast producers, especially independents.

A. The free exploitation of podcasts by platforms.

The dominant model is based on free access via RSS feeds, which allows platforms to aggregate and disseminate content without automatic compensation for creators.

Unlike music producers or audiovisual companies, podcast producers do not receive direct remuneration when their content is broadcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Deezer.

The CSPLA highlights an asymmetry between platforms and creators, calling for better value sharing through more balanced contractual agreements.

B. The role of collective management organizations (CMOs).

Collective management organizations (CMOs), such as SACD, SCAM, ADAMI, and SPEDIDAM, play a key role in the management of copyright and neighboring rights.

However, their integration into the podcast economy remains limited:

- Podcast producers still have to negotiate individually with CMOs, unlike radio stations and music streaming platforms. - Podcast performers receive very low remuneration via CMOs, on the order of a few euros per year, which does not allow for viable economic recognition. - Independent producers are disadvantaged compared to large radio stations, which benefit from collectively negotiated agreements with CMOs.

The CSPLA therefore recommends better structuring of relations between producers, platforms, and CMOs to ensure a fairer distribution of revenues from the exploitation of podcasts.

C. The need for a more balanced contractual framework.

Finally, the report points to the need to establish standard contracts between producers and creators, to ensure remuneration proportional to the exploitation of podcasts. Currently, copyright assignment contracts are often unsuitable or insufficiently protective, which hinders the professionalization of the sector.

The CSPLA confirms that podcasts are indeed protected by copyright, but suffer from a lack of economic structuring.

Rather than immediate legislative reform, the report advocates an approach based on better application of existing rights to ensure effective protection for authors and performers, but also a reorganization of the economic model by greater involvement of platforms and CMOs in the redistribution of revenues.

The CSPLA thus recommends urgently opening negotiations, in order to achieve “proportional and appropriate” remuneration for podcast authors, producers, and performers.

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