Copyright Law Is Still Multi-interpretation, The Clarity Of Royalty Performing Rights Continues To Be Polemic

Agnez Mo had to pay compensation of Rp1.5 billion after the Central Jakarta Commercial Court found the singer guilty of performing the song Bilang Saja without the permission of his creator, Ari Bias. (Instagram/@agnezmo)

JAKARTA The polemic regarding royalties performing rights is entering a new chapter. Indonesian musicians are now divided into two camps.

Later, discussions about royalty rights were discussed again among musicians. At the end of January, the Central Jakarta Commercial Court found singer Agnez Mo guilty of performing the song Just Gilang without the permission of his creator, Ari Bias.

The decision forced Agnez to pay compensation of Rp1.5 billion to Ari Bias. Previously, the songwriter had confessed that he did not receive royalty from songs sung by Agnez Mo, even though the song was performed at various events.

The Central Jakarta Commercial Court's decision immediately caught the attention of many circles. Starting from the public, to music observers and musicians. At its peak, this polemic divided musicians into two camps.

The first camp is part of the Indonesian Voice Vibration (VISION). This camp is filled with a number of Indonesian musicians including vocalist Noah Nazril Ilham or better known as Ariel, Armand Maulana, Vina Panduwinata, Titi DJ, Judika, Bunga Citra Lestari, Rossa, and Raisa.

In the opposite camp, there are musicians who are members of the All-Indonesian Composite Association (AKSI) who propose alternative solutions, namely Direct License. This camp is fronted by, among others, Ahmad Dhani and Piyu Padi.

In the verdict of the case that dragged Agnez Mo's name, the judge stated that the 39-year-old singer used Ari Bias's copyrighted song without permission in three commercial concerts.

VISI submitted a material review of the Copyright Law to the Constitutional Court on March 7, 2025, and was registered under number 33/PUU.MK/AP3/03/2025.

Ariel and other singers are worried that they will be fined similarly or prohibited from singing songs composed by others. What VISI is questioning is the performance rights, the exclusive rights of songwriters and publishers to control and get compensation for public performances by their music works.

Among the demands of VISION is to ensure our rights as singers and performers get proper legal protection.

The musicians considered that at this time it was not clear whether permission should be directly requested by the creator or sufficient through LMKN. In addition, musicians who are suing the Copyright Law are also worried about the excessive administrative and financial burdens for singers. They questioned who should be responsible for paying royalties, whether the singer or the organizer.

On the other hand, the ACTION camp positively welcomed the judge's decision which fined Agnez Mo Rp1.5 billion. According to ACTION, what was decided by the Central Jakarta Commercial Court was the fruit of their struggle.

"The decision of the Central Jakarta District Court for the Copyright Lawsuit Ari Bias Vs Agnez Mo. The court has finally decided the rights struggle for 1.5 years and won the songwriter. Greetings AKSI! The statement reads on Instagram @aksibersatu on February 3.

The polemic between singers and songwriters about performing rights has happened quite often in Indonesia. Before Agnez Mo had to pay Rp1.5 billion to Ari Bias, several other singers and songwriters also clashed.

Ndank Surahman Hartono, former guitarist for the band Stinky, banned Andre Taulany and Stinky from performing the song "Maybe" because he feels he has exclusive rights as a songwriter.

Also Once Mekel who was not allowed to perform Dewa 19's songs by the frontman of the band, Ahmad Dhani. The reason is that songwriters feel that they do not get their rights from the royalties of the performance rights.

In Indonesia, regulations governing the exclusive rights of songwriters or copyright holders to announce or multiply their creations are regulated in Law Number 28 of 2014 concerning Copyright.

This rule aims to provide legal protection for the work produced by creators in various fields, including the music industry. One of the things regulated in the Copyright Law is about performing rights.

In simple terms, the performance rights is that when a singer sings a song created by someone in a public space, there must be royalties to songwriters. It is the National Collective Management Institute (LMKN) assigned to quote the royalties. This institution also distributes royalties to copyright holders.

However, the existence of this LMKN is now a matter of debate. The Vision Camp wants to maintain the LMKN system, while the ACTION group proposes an alternative royalty payment mechanism through a platform called Digital Direct License (DDL).

One of the reasons ACTION offers the DDL option is because LMKN has been considered not transparent in royalty distribution. Piyu, the guitarist of Padi who also composed many hits as well as the general chairman of ACTION, admitted that she only received Rp300,000 from one year of her music royalties.

For this reason, AKSI said DDL was an innovative solution to ensure transparency of royalties performing rights in live events concert performances in Indonesia. With this system, the distribution of royalties is considered more transparent and real-time.

The issue of royalty rights is not yet fully understood by Indonesian musicians, because the socialization is not yet massive. This was admitted by songwriter Eet Sjahranie. He said that until now he did not know the function of LMK as an institution that was obliged to raise the royalty rights of musicians.

"Since 1996 I have questioned LMK. But until now I do not know its function," he said in a discussion entitled The Music Royalty System in early March.

On the same occasion, Mila Rosa as the representative of LMK Mihri (Union of Artists, Singers, and Songwriters) said that the rights of musicians will still be given as long as they are registered with the LMK.

"For this reason, it is important for musicians and songwriters to be registered with the LMK. So that their works can be claimed for royalties," said Mila.

Meanwhile, veteran musician Candra Darusman participated in discussing the Copyright Law through uploads on his Facebook account. In the post, he hopes that the incident will cross between singers and songwriters because the multi-interpretation regulations will not happen again.

Candra explained things that have been being debated regarding royalty payments. According to his view, the right to announce is managed collectively by the LMK. The reason is that royalty collection will be inefficient if individual songwriters do it.

In commercial activities, the term user' is intended for activity organizers, not singers or bands, which Candra says is called the perpetrators'.

"The Copyright Law in Indonesia adheres to the rule that individuals or legal entities can use songs in performances as long as they reward creators through LMK, as deputy songwriters," Candra wrote.

With other words, People are the organizers, namely the Event Organizer (EO) or the promoter or committee. Not the 'perpetrator' said Candra again.