The Ministry of Culture favored Albautor, did not revoke his license
The Ministry of Culture has used two standards regarding the relicensing of collective management agencies, since even when agencies violate the law, they relicense them. The specific case relates to the former agency Forum for the Protection of Audiovisual Authors (FMAA) after its license was revoked because it did not provide transparency and exceeded administrative costs, despite being many times more than Albautor. This fact is also highlighted by the High State Audit, but the Ministry has revoked the license only of FMAA, while it has not revoked or suspended Albautor.

Even in 2021, according to the audit, Albautor was relicensed in violation of the law by the Ministry of Culture under the direction of Elva Margariti.

According to expert Çollaku, the procedure and the legal limit on the expenses that an agency will have to spend are regulated in Article 151 of the Copyright Law.

"There, the law, the article provides that 30% of distributed income should be the maximum legal limit that an agency will have to spend to cover staff administration costs," said lawyer Çollaku.

Although repeated violations were identified, the Ministry of Culture has not issued any administrative act to suspend or revoke the agency's license. On the contrary, according to the audit, the Ministry has carried out conditional license renewals for the agency in violation of legal provisions.

Looking at Albautor's relicensing in 2024, we find that it has a license to administer literary, artistic, and scientific works, excluding audiovisual. But the question arises, does "Albautor" have the authority to represent music, when the license states otherwise?

Another problem that the authors have raised is the lack of filling out the form when performing at concerts or musical events.

"A very big problem that comes precisely from Albautori, from this association that should protect copyright, is that there is no form that is mandatory to be given to the one who organizes the show. In this form, before the show is given, the organizing author must responsibly write down all the composers and authors of the works that will be played. Do you know that in Albania there is no such form?" said composer Gjergj Leka.

Article 140 of the Copyright Law states categorically that before starting a commercial activity, you will need to obtain authorization and declare the list of works that you will use. This applies to television, radio, and any commercial entity, including a concert organizer.

So, before the concert is organized, you must report to SUADA and obtain the appropriate authorization for the list of works to be used.

A few days after the first episode of "Vetting" on October 30, 2025, regarding the denunciations by the authors, a warning letter would arrive from the lawyers of the Albautor agency.

Regarding this letter, the "Vetting" editorial team publicly declares that it stands by the facts that were published in the documentary of October 30, 2025, as they are testimonies collected from artists, official documents from the Ministry of Culture, and reports from the Supreme State Audit Office.

We declare that the efforts of an agency, which even today as we speak seeks the implementation of the law while violating Law 35/2016 on Copyright, are a form of intimidation to not give a voice to honorable artists, who have an irreplaceable contribution to Albanian art. In fact, in the letter, Albautor also has a warning for artists, who have simply expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of transparency in how the income is distributed.

The letter sent by the law firm is a blackmail letter because if Albautor has found an element that is unfounded or defamatory, he should address it to the court.

Even in the phone call between the journalist and director Erion Muka, the latter stated that "News24"has not implemented copyright law, while "News24” is news television, showing the agency's efforts to pressure the editorial staff to back down from exposing the facts.

The "Vetting" editorial team reconfirms that Albautor has exceeded its competences as a Collective Administration Agency, having entered into contracts with foreign sister agencies for areas that are not within its competence.

"Vetting" has made a request for comment to the Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation, specifically the Copyright Directorate, regarding Albautor's violations.

These are facts ascertained by the Copyright Directorate at the Ministry and by the audit, but to date no measures have been taken against the agency by the Directorate or the Ministry of Culture.