KUALA LUMPUR- The payment overdue in royalties to local singers and musicians amounting to tens of millions of ringgit will be distributed latest by December 2020.
In a joint statement, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP), and the Communications and Multimedia Malaysia (KKMM) Ministry said the deadline was based on an agreement reached on October 5 by the Malaysian Insolvency Department (MDI), Recording Performers Malaysia (RPM) Berhad and the PRISM Performers Verification and Claims Committee (PPVCC).
"KPDNHEP and KKMM encourage the involved parties to be committed to the agreed timeline, in order not to delay this issue any longer," the ministries said in the statement issued today.
The announcement came following a discussion between Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi, Communications and Multimedia Minister, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, recently.
They had discussed possible ways forward to expedite a resolution to this issue, the statement said.
A recent report revealed that nearly RM30 million in royalties were yet to be disbursed to recording musicians.
According to Free Malaysia Today earlier this month, royalty collection consortium Music Rights Malaysia Berhad (MRM), which was dissolved by the government earlier this year following allegations of irregularities, was holding some RM20 million in funds owed to artists.
Another RM9 million in cash was in the hands of RPM whose members numbered nearly 2,000 artists.
The MRM was the umbrella consortium which provided a centralised service for copyright licensing to music rights holders and commercial music users. Under MRM were the RPM, Music Authors’ Copyright Protection Bhd’s (MACP), and Public Performance Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PPM), as well as the now-defunct Performers’ Rights and Interest Society of Malaysia Bhd (Prism).
The MRM has also been, effective since January 2017, after receiving recognition from The Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO), the overarching music licensing body.
Both ministries said they were following the issue of distribution of royalties closely following the dissolution of the MRM.
"KPDNHEP and KKMM are concerned about the wellbeing of the affected singers and musicians in this issue and hope that the royalty distribution process can be completed soonest," they said.
The ministries added they were "committed to seeing the creative industry flourish, the ease of doing business prioritised", and have pledged to "address this issue together according to the rule of law".
KPDNHEP and KKMM said the matter of unpaid royalties was being highlighted and addressed by the Government and negotiations are ongoing, while meetings on the progress on the royalty distribution were held every two weeks.
During the meetings, all parties involved were required to provide updates and raise concerns while KPDNHEP moderated the discussions.
The statement also said both ministers are also of the opinion that this issue can be raised by the concerned parties to MyIPO's Copyright Tribunal if no agreement is sought.
"The Copyright Tribunal can hear and determine the issues brought by interested parties which include complaints by performers, operators, a person or organization, appeals by a licensing body and applications by any person." - The Vibes, October 10, 2020
