Reviving collective management: will CMOs become the true mediators they ought to be in the digital single market?

Collective management organisations (CMOs) provide a practical service which significantly reduces rights administration costs. Nonetheless, they have often been attacked for lack of transparency. This article studies some of the pros and cons of CMOs and takes on a case study from Bulgaria to illustrate when the management of rights risks becoming mismanagement. Looking forward, it argues that these organisations may be key in solving the convoluted licensing obligations in art.17 of Directive 2019/970 . In order to do so, however, now more than ever it is imperative that they become better mediators.