In Leipzig, Germany (and also simultaneously in Weimar) an 8 hour dance party was held and played exclusively creative commons music the whole time. The organizer planned this to be the case. Ahead of time he notified the disc jockeys, the public and also GEMA. GEMA told the organizers that to be certain that no rights were infringed, it would need a list of all artists including their full names, place of residency and date of birth. After the event GEMA sent an invoice for 200 euros. Claiming that behind pseudonyms some of their artists may be hidden and produce things that they would not earn anything from. The event organizer responded by saying that it’s impossible to track down that information. Especially with short-lived net-labels and artists that want to stay anonymous. According to German law, you are required to prove that an artist is not with GEMA. So even though GEMA probably does not have rights to any of the music, they are not required to prove that they do.
