CISAC launches first global format to modernise audiovisual music data and improve creator payments

Paris, France – 18 June 2026 – The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) today announced the launch of AVR+, the first fully documented and machine-readable technical format designed to transform how music data is shared and processed across the global audiovisual industry, helping ensure that creators are more accurately identified and fairly paid.

Developed as the first implementation-ready format based on the Global Cue Sheet Standard 2.0 — a shared framework for how music used in film and television is documented — AVR+ marks a major step toward more consistent and interoperable metadata exchange across the audiovisual value chain.

“This is a major step forward in modernising the global infrastructure that supports creators,” said Sylvain Piat, Director of Business and Technology at CISAC. “By improving the accuracy and interoperability of audiovisual music data, AVR+ has the potential to massively increase the efficiency and timely processing of usages. It’s about making sure the value of creative work flows back to the people who made it.”

Cue sheets — documents that list the music used in audiovisual productions — are essential for ensuring that royalties are distributed correctly. However, they have historically been fragmented, inconsistently formatted, and often incomplete, creating inefficiencies across the global rights ecosystem. AVR+ addresses these challenges by providing a structured, machine-readable format that enables automation, improves data quality, and ensures greater consistency across systems.

Built as a structured JSON schema — a widely used digital format that allows systems to exchange data in a consistent and automated way — AVR+ incorporates all mandatory and optional data elements defined in the Global Cue Sheet Standard 2.0, including full support for recording metadata such as identifiers and contextual usage (how and where music is used within a production). It introduces standardised terminology agreed by CISAC and its global partners and is designed to work seamlessly with existing rights databases and downstream workflows, allowing for integration into production, rights management, and royalty processing systems.

The format enables a range of practical improvements, including more efficient processing and amendment of cue sheet data, streamlined registration of works and sound recordings, stronger linkage between usage documentation and payment records, and greater consistency between publisher registrations and society distributions. By translating the global standard into an operational format, AVR+ supports automation of cue sheet ingestion, reduces metadata gaps, and enables consistent validation across production partners, ultimately improving transparency for all rights holders.

A key advancement of the Global Cue Sheet Standard 2.0 that is now fully realised through AVR+ is the integration of recording metadata alongside musical works. This expands the system beyond authors’ rights (authors, composers and music publishers) to also support neighbouring rights (performers and record labels), allowing for more complete identification of both musical works and sound recordings used in audiovisual content. The result is a more accurate and holistic view of music usage, benefiting creators and rightsholders across the industry.

By delivering the “how” behind the Global Cue Sheet Standard 2.0, AVR+ is expected to accelerate global adoption among audiovisual producers, collective management organisations (CMOs), music publishers, record labels, broadcasters, platforms, and technology providers.

The AVR+ Cue Sheet JSON Schema, along with full documentation and implementation examples, is now publicly available at: http://formats.cisac.org/avr/.  

Jens Kindermann, GEMA, Chair of CISAC's Audiovisual Working Group, said: "AVR+ is more than a technical format—it is a practical blueprint for the future of audiovisual rights data. By creating a common language for the exchange of cue sheet information and integrating both musical works and recording metadata, we are helping to build a more transparent, connected and scalable rights ecosystem. The work of the Audiovisual Working Group has always been guided by the belief that better data leads to better outcomes for creators, and AVR+ turns that vision into a practical reality."