The Sociedad General de Autores de España bit off more than they could chew in Torvizcón, which is in the Alpujarra. The SGAE is an Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society.

Anyway, it is worth pointing out that the SGAE is as popular as a fart in a lift within Spain and only one notch further up from a tax inspector on the ‘not-nice-people’ list.

This ‘fine body of men,’ had handed the Torviscón Town Hall a bill for almost 2,500 euros related to concerts during the local fiestas in 2009 and 2010, bless their cotton socks. Unfortunately for them the Mercantile Tribunal has thrown out their demand – even the judges don’t like them, it seems.

Torviscón is a pretty modest village of just over 700 inhabitants, you see, but they took on and beat this collecting society with its 100,000 members.

Up until a few years ago, the SGAE had been a pretty dormant but somebody evidently gave them a snack after midnight because all of a sudden they burst up the Spanish society, demanding money from everybody, left, right and centre.

They would demand local hairdressers pay astronomic amounts because they might have a radio playing whilst they cut somebody’s hair, for example. But that’s nothing because they have even been known to stake out weddings!

Nobody minds paying symbolic amounts under reasonable circumstance, but the SGAE was not demanding ‘symbolic amounts’ nor under ‘reasonable’ circumstances… hence their being struck off everybody’s Christmas card list.

So there was the Mayor, a couple of years back, suddenly handed a bill for 2,322 euros. After a sharp intake of breath and a oath concerning defecation and somebody’s tomb, he handed over the affair to a local lawyer, Miguel Ruiz – which was a wise move, indeed.

The SGAE had presented photocopies citing a band that was not on the official programme for the fiesta. But the judge was no friend of photocopies, and as the SGAE had no other proof other than the said inadequate documents, so he threw their case out.

So, how does the SGAE work? In the case of concerts, they want 10% of the takings. Even if it is a free concert, they still hand over a bill for 7% of the concert budget to the organizers. Not the sort of people you would like your daughter to bring home, are they?

(News: Torviscon, Alpujarra, Granada, Andalucia – Cartoon courtesy of Cretinolandia blogspot)