Menkum: Cafe Visitors Don't Get Music Royalties

Minister of Law Supratman Andi Agtas (ANTARA/Fath Putra Mulya)

JAKARTA - Minister of Law (Menkum) Supratman Andi Agtas appealed to the public not to worry because they are not subject to the obligation to pay royalties when visiting a place of business.

"More importantly, for visitors who are not business actors, don't worry because they are not subject to royalties," Supratman said as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, August 13.

He was confused recently that visitors had made a fuss over royalties, while owners of places of business were required to pay for copyright use if they played music.

"It's a problem if this is a fuss for visitors. The owner of the place of business who gets royalties, it's okay. How come the visitors are noisy, even though they don't get royalties? " he said.

Therefore, Supratman said that awareness should be built with visitors to a place of business, not subject to royalty payment obligations for a copyright.

The Minister of Law and Human Rights also expressed public criticism regarding royalty management as a booster for the government to make improvements in the future.

He acknowledged that there was negligence in supervising royalty governance. However, as a controlling institution, Supratman emphasized that the Ministry of Law is ready to take responsibility for the matter.

He also asked the public to give the commissioners of the National Collective Management Institute (LMKN) who were just inaugurated on Friday (8/8) to show performance. Moreover, according to him, the current commissioner consists of various groups who understand royalties.

"That it concerns how to collect and also how to distribute [royalti] it becomes a work now that a new commissioner must do," he said.

The Minister of Law and Human Rights also guaranteed transparency in determining royalty rates. He admitted that he would not sign the amount or the type of tariff proposed by LMKN if it was not carried out transparently.

"I will not sign the approval of the amount of tariff and the type of tariff if it is not done properly and openly to the public to be tested. That's a guarantee I give, as a form of accountability," he said.

In addition, Supratman appealed to all parties, especially LMKN, not to prioritize criminal proceedings in the issue of royalty governance.

According to him, mediation must take precedence if there is a polemic in royalty management.

The Minister of Law and Human Rights asked the LMKN commissioner to coordinate this with parties related to royalty governance.

In essence, added Supratman, royalties are managed together. "Actually, the royalties are from us, for us, by us," he said.