German Christmas markets complain about Gema price increases. These examples show that we could drink mulled wine contemplatively even without Gema.
What goes into a good Christmas market visit? Mulled wine, dim lighting, crowds of people immediately come to mind. And of course the Christmas music. We all know the memes of Mariah Carey unfreezing at the end of November every year. Without “Last Christmas” and “All I want for Christmas is you,” Advent and the Christmas markets wouldn’t be the same.
But it looks like we’ll have to miss out on the greatest hits this year. Because of a dispute over money between the music collecting society Gema and Christmas markets, there will be no choir performances in Braunschweig this year. Gema is demanding around 18,000 euros more, city marketing in Braunschweig announced last week.
More on the subject: You can find out here why Christmas markets are simply the last thing for our author.
What is the Gema?
Gema represents copyright for its members. In this way, composers receive the money they are entitled to for their works. If you want to use Gema-protected music, you can purchase the appropriate licenses from Gema. Gema then distributes these funds to musicians. So gross.
But because we don’t want to let the Gema disputes spoil our Christmas market fun, we have collected and found a whole series of Gema-free songs. You can find 8 that are particularly suitable for the Christmas market here:
1. Dynamic music (royalty-free) from audioagency.de
This isn’t product placement, I promise. But how about a different atmosphere at the Christmas market than always this contemplation? On audioagency.de there is suitable music for everything, be it “dynamic”, “eerie” or “in love”. Title names such as “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” with the description: “Indie Rock. Woo! Explosive, anarchic, lively.” This would definitely make the 2023 Christmas market season something different. And all of this is much cheaper than the expensive GEMA songs.
2. Happy Birthday on repeat
The GEMA rules are complex and quite difficult for laypeople to understand. For a long time, Happy Birthday, for example, could only be sung in private, royalty-free. The birthday song has been free in Germany since 2017 and can be used free of charge. This is the perfect opportunity for the Christmas choirs this year. Basically, Christmas time is also a birthday celebration for the Christ child. Thematically quite fitting.
More about Christmas: 12 facts about Christmas that will help you survive family small talk.
3. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio
We don’t have to give up Christmas music entirely. Because music whose authors have been dead for more than 70 years loses GEMA protection. Johann Sebastian Bach has been dead for a long time – 374 years, to be precise. His legendary Christmas oratorio can be used freely and even fits at the Christmas market. Advent 2023 could be a rich celebration for classical music fans.
4. The Japanese Lo-Fi stream
The Christmas market would have a completely different vibe with my personal favorite “Japanese Lo-Fi”. As a 24-hour live stream on YouTube, relaxed sounds are offered around the clock to which you can learn, relax or drink mulled wine. The description clearly states: “No Copyright”. So if you want something a little more modern but still quiet at the Christmas market, you could get your money’s worth here.
5. All my ducklings and other great children’s songs
Like classical music, most German folk and children’s songs are significantly older than 70 years. It is often not even clear who invented them. This makes them ideal candidates for this list. “All my ducklings” or “All the birds are already here” can be used completely freely. Children would definitely be thrilled if they could hear their favorite songs at the Christmas market this year.
6. Hymns
Church songs, which are also often too old for Gema, go in a similar direction to folk and children’s songs. Some of them are even Christmas-themed. With “Great God, we praise you” or “Christ, King of all time” the Christmas markets this year would certainly have a completely different atmosphere than with “Santa baby” and “Driving home for Christmas”. Grandma and Grandpa would be happy.
7. Claire de Lune – Debussy
If the Christmas oratorio is too strenuous for you, you might get your money’s worth with some lighter, calmer classical music. Debussy’s “Claire de Lune,” for example, is so easy on the ears that many recognize it from the countless films in which it is used (royalty-free). In “Twilight,” for example, or in this year’s Oscar winner “Everything everywhere all at once.” So why not at our Christmas markets?
8. Christmas carols
That somehow makes the rest of the list obsolete, but even many Christmas songs could still be sung and played despite the GEMA dispute. “Silent Night”, “All Years Again” and “Jingle Bells” no longer have GEMA protection. So unlike Mariah Carey and other current stars, these Christmas songs wouldn’t cost anyone. It remains to be seen whether there will be a quick agreement or whether the Christmas markets in 2023 will actually have to make do with this song selection.
Here you can find another Christmas market list: 18 funny sentences that you can say perfectly during sex, but also at the Christmas market.
(With material from dpa)
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