Association of Audio-Video Producers

The Association of Audio Video Producers is an association of producers of phonograms and videograms. It is authorized by the Minister of Culture to collectively manage related rights in this field.

ZPAV was founded in 1991 on the initiative of a dozen or so people from the music industry, primarily to represent the interests of legal producers in the face of phonographic piracy, which in the early 1990s reached 95%. Today, the association includes nearly 100 individuals (representatives of the phonographic industry) and about 40 phonographic companies, which in terms of the value of sold sound recordings together cover about 80% of the Polish music market.

ZPAV is the Polish National Group of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which unites and represents the global music industry (more than 1,400 companies in 76 countries).

ZPAV’s activities are primarily:

• Collective management of the rights of phonogram producers: The union signs contracts on behalf of producers for broadcasting and public performance of sound recordings
• Activities to combat phonographic piracy: ZPAV has been cooperating with law enforcement agencies for many years, conducting activities throughout the country related to the detection and procedural support of combating the illegal production, smuggling and distribution of pirated sound carriers, including on the Internet. For many years, ZPAV has also been organizing training courses for representatives of the police, prosecutors, judges, border guards, customs and tax offices on the possibilities of combating phonographic piracy and ways of identifying illegal products.
• Law and education: the association participates in all activities aimed at popularizing the observance of intellectual property rights, including providing opinions on emerging legislation. Together with organizations representing film (FOTA) and computer software (BSA) producers and distributors, it conducts educational and lobbying campaigns within the framework of the Anti-Piracy Coalition, established in October 1998. Anti-Piracy Coalition
• holograms: Since 1993 (including since 1996 jointly with the ZAiKS Authors’ Association), ZPAV has been conducting a campaign to holographicize sound carriers. Providing a guarantee of the legality of recordings, ZPAV/ZAiKS hologram stamps play both a promotional and identification role
• record sales rankings, statistics: the ZPAV publishes the OLIS retail sales list and a list based on reports from record companies TOP 100. The association awards gold, platinum and diamond records for record numbers of record sales
• FRYDERYK AWARDS AND THE PHONOGRAPHIC ACADEMY: ZPAV is the organizer of the FRYDERYK AWARDS, which have been awarded since 1995, and the initiator of the Phonographic Academy, which is the jury of the Awards starting with the FRYDERYK ’99 edition.
• ZPAV established Polish Music Foundation to help music people