Resolve royalty payments, govt urged

KUALA LUMPUR: Key players in the local music industry today urged the government to resolve royalty payment licensing issues as soon as possible due to severe loss of revenue.
Recording Industry Association Malaysia (RIM) chief executive officer R. Ramani Ramalingan said the music industry now has two bodies with licences to collect royalty payments for all musical properties, whereas previously, there were two in charge of different sections.
"We now have overlapping agencies for royalty collection and because of that, royalty payment has increased substantially and commercial users have to pay royalty twice.
"Because of the double payment, businesses such as restaurants, shopping malls, broadcasters, and many more, have decided not to pay until the issue has been resolved," Ramani told a press conference at The Majestic Hotel today.
Currently, Music Authors' Copyright Protection Berhad (MACP), Public Performance Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PPM), and Recording Performers Malaysia Berhad (RPM) hold a joint licence for royalty collection, while Performers Rights and Interest Society Berhad (Prism) holds another.
Amendments to the Malaysian Copyright Act required the licence holders to be registered with the Malaysia Intellectual Property Corporation (MyIPO) for regulation and MACP, PPM, and then newly formed RPM applied for a joint licence for collection so all payments can be consolidated under one entity.
However, Prism, an industry player that had cooperated with PPM before, also applied for a licence to collect and was granted, creating two overlapping bodies that businesses using the musical properties will have to pay to.
Ramani called on the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives, and Consumerism Ministry to set up a one-stop centre where all royalty payments can be collected in a consolidated manner before being distributed to copyrights owners.
He also questioned why MyIPO is meeting with Prism to discuss royalty collection rates when the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives, and Consumerism Minister Datuk Hassan Malek said on Sept 10 that the services of Prism's collecting agent, MyCollect Solutions Sdn Bhd has been terminated.