CISAC Launches AVR+ to Modernize Audiovisual Music Data and Royalty Processing

The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) has launched AVR+ to standardize how music data is shared and processed across the global audiovisual industry.

Why it matters:

• Cue sheets – documents that list the music used in audiovisual productions – are essential for the accurate distribution of royalties, but historically they’ve been fragmented, inconsistently formatted, and often incomplete.

• By providing a structured, machine-readable format that enables automation, improves data quality and ensures greater consistency across systems, AVR+ addresses these challenges, ensuring creators are more accurately identified and fairly paid.

• AVR+ also incorporates recording metadata alongside musical works data, enabling more complete identification of both compositions and sound recordings used in audiovisual content, with benefits extending to performers and record labels as well as songwriters and publishers.

How it works:

• AVR+ has been 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.

• It’s built as a structured JSON schema, a widely used digital format that allows systems to exchange data in a consistent and automated way.

• CISAC says that AVR+ “supports automation of cue sheet ingestion, reduces metadata gaps, and enables consistent validation across production partners, ultimately improving transparency for all rights holders.”

What they said:

• Jens Kindermann, GEMA, Chair of CISAC's Audiovisual Working Group: “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.”