Copyright Law Revision Under Scrutiny as Music Royalties and Journalism Take Center Stage

JAKARTA - The discussion of revising Law Number 28 of 2014 concerning Copyright has again become a spotlight. A number of academics and creative industry players reminded that changes to regulations do not actually create new legal uncertainties, especially regarding the management of music royalties to the possibility of expanding copyright protection for journalistic works.

The debate, which previously focused on the music royalty system, is now expanding to various creative economic sectors. A number of parties assess that the revision needs to be carried out carefully in order to be able to strengthen the protection of the economic rights of creators without hindering innovation or business activities.

The academic of the University of Putra Indonesia YPTK Padang, Devi Syukri Azhari, assessed that the government's intention to revise the Copyright Law should be appreciated. However, according to him, the implementation of the new rules must consider the impact on the business world and the creative industry.

"First of all, it must be admitted that the intention behind the revision of the Copyright Law is a good thing. Nevertheless, in practice in the field, exclusive rights have the potential to limit the dissemination and modification of works so that the cost of using research, software, or educational materials becomes high. As a result, the innovation of local creative economy actors can be hampered. In fact, the creative economy sector has proven to contribute significantly to the economy with a GDP of Rp. 1,611 trillion in 2024 and employing more than 27 million people in 2025," said Devi, in his statement, Thursday, July 9.

He assessed that the revision of regulations must also take into account the potential for increased compliance costs for companies, digital platforms, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and creative industry players if the new provisions are not clearly formulated.

On the other hand, the issue of transparency in the management of music royalties also resurfaced. In various discussion forums, a number of national musicians highlighted the importance of improving the mechanism for collecting and distributing royalties carried out by the Collective Management Agency (LMK) and the National Collective Management Agency (LMKN).

LMKN plays a role in collecting royalties from parties who use songs commercially, then coordinating with LMK to distribute royalties to creators and rights holders.

In a public statement regarding the inauguration of the LMKN commissioners for the 2025-2028 period, the group of singers who are members of the Indonesian Voice Vibration (VISI) and the Indonesian Musicians' Union Federation (FESMI) asked that royalty governance be carried out in a more transparent and accountable manner.

Singer Kunto Aji also assessed that the government and the DPR needed to ensure that the system of collecting, reporting, auditing, and distributing royalties could really be understood and trusted by all rights holders before the revision of the Copyright Law was passed.

As a context, the current management of music royalties has been regulated through Government Regulation Number 56 of 2021 concerning the Management of Copyright Royalties for Songs and/or Music, Minister of Law Regulation Number 27 of 2025, and the Decree of the Minister of Law and Human Rights Number HKI.2.OT.03.01-02 of 2016 regarding the royalty rates for the commercial use of songs and music.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Creative Reproduction Association (PRCI) assessed that the revision of the Copyright Law was also an opportunity to strengthen the protection of economic rights for writers, academics, publishers, and journalists.

Hany Mahfuzah from PRCI said his party supports fair protection for all creators, but warns that changes to regulations should not create legal uncertainty.

"Copyright protection is an important part of the sustainability of Indonesia's digital creative ecosystem. In principle, the revision of the Copyright Law is an important momentum to strengthen protection for all creators. Musicians are entitled to receive royalties that are appropriate for their works. On the other hand, we agree that journalists and media companies receive fair compensation when their journalistic works are used commercially. However, the revision of regulations must not create new legal uncertainties," said Hany.

According to him, if journalistic works later become objects of economic rights management, the government needs to provide clear limits regarding the scope of regulation, including articles, investigative results, journalistic photos, infographics, and digital news clips.

In addition, the revision of the Copyright Law is also expected to avoid the birth of norms that are too broad or have the potential to become "rubber clauses". The unclear formulation is considered to create uncertainty for media companies, digital platforms, educational institutions, researchers, business actors, and the public who use works in accordance with the exceptions in copyright law.

Until now, the government is still collecting various inputs from stakeholders. A number of circles hope that the preparation of the copyright law revision will be carried out transparently and through extensive public consultations so that it can provide balanced protection for creators without hindering the development of the national creative economy ecosystem.