Minister of Law and Human Rights: Royalty-Free Music at Wedding Party

Music license illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Minister of Law Supratman Andi Agtas confirmed that there are no royalties charged for playing songs at weddings or other non-commercial events.

"There aren't any, unless there's a wedding," Supratman said at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta, as quoted by Antara, Tuesday, August 19.

Supratman emphasized that the royalty fee only applies to commercial public spaces, such as cafes or restaurants. Therefore, business owners are obligated to pay royalties if they play songs at their establishments.

However, he reminded them that the royalty fee should not burden micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). He said the government continues to listen to the aspirations of all parties.

"The government is not blind. Not blind in the sense that it will listen to all parties," Supratman said.

He explained that the imposition of royalties is also regulated by Law Number 28 of 2014 concerning Copyright and the 1886 Berne Convention on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which applies internationally.

"This is nothing new. This Convention has been in effect for a long time and requires cross-border copyright protection," he said.

Previously, Deputy Chairman of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), Ahmad Sahroni, criticized the Indonesian Music Forum (WAMI)'s plan to collect royalties for songs played or sung at weddings.

Sahroni believes this move has the potential to trigger thuggery and burden the public.

"If this is the case, the music royalty discourse will continue to spiral. All sectors will be subject to this, even weddings, which are clearly non-commercial in nature. This is absurd and will seriously burden the public," Sahroni said on Friday (August 15).