GEMA mourns the loss of its Honorary President Prof. Dr. Reinhold Kreile

The CISAC community has lost a lifelong leader and supporter with the passing of Prof. Dr. Reinhold Kreile, Honorary President and former CEO of GEMA. Throughout his life, Kreile fought for the protection and promotion of copyright and persistently campaigned for the rights of music authors.  Kreile passed away on Friday, 30 August 2024.

Prof. Dr. Reinhold Kreile was CEO of GEMA from 1990 to the end of 2005 and served as Honorary President of GEMA since 2005. Born in Aschaffenburg on 1 December 1929, Kreile dedicated his life to the protection and promotion of copyrights.   He was also highly active in the work of CISAC for many years, including as a member of the Board and the European Committee.

Echoing the tributes of our colleagues at GEMA, CISAC Director General Gadi Oron said:  “Professor Kreile was an influential and tireless champion for creators’ rights, and for the work of the collective management system that supports them.  Many in our community across the world will join colleagues in Germany to remember and pay tribute to the dedicated service he gave to GEMA and to CISAC over many years.”

“We mourn the passing of our Honorary President and longstanding CEO, Prof. Dr. Reinhold Kreile, who died last Friday at the age of 94. He left his mark on the field of copyright and remained influ-ential in it until the very end. As CEO of GEMA, he fought tirelessly for the protection of copyright and vehemently defended the rights authors. His influence is still felt within GEMA and throughout the entire music industry,” says GEMA CEO Dr. Tobias Holzmüller. “Music was always at the centre of his activities. His great recognition both nationally and internationally reflects his importance for all of us who work in the music industry. With Reinhold Kreile, the music and media world has lost one of its greatest advocates and visionaries. I am deeply saddened by the news of his passing. I would like to express my sincere condolences to Reinhold Kreile's family, and also do so on behalf of GEMA and its members.“

Kreile studied law, economics and music in Munich and Darmstadt. His subsequent career has been impressive. Before joining GEMA, he was a member of the German Bundestag, Chairman of the Su-pervisory Board of the Munich-based Gesellschaft für Kabel-Kommunikation (Cable Communications Company), Professor and Head of the Production and Media Management Department at the Uni-versity for Television and Film in Munich.

Kreile has written numerous standard works on GEMA‘s fundamental principles, thus making a major contribution to the transparency of its activities. Internationally, he was active as President of the European Committee of CISAC, GESAC and BIEM, where he championed authors‘ and composers‘ rights worldwide.

His enduring commitment to and passion for copyright will be remembered.

In Germany, GEMA represents copyrights for over 95,000 members (composers, lyricists and music publishers), and over two million copyrights owners from all over the world. It is one of the largest societies for creators of musical works in the world.