Ahmad Dhani's Comments After WAMI Called Music Performances At Weddings Still Pay Royalties

Ahmad Dhani (Ivan Two Men/VOI)

JAKARTA - Ahmad Dhani responded to a statement from Wahana Musik Indonesia (WAMI) which stated that music performances at weddings must also pay royalties.

Through his Instagram account, the Dewa 19 frontman uploaded a screenshot of WAMI's statement, which stated that the royalty rate of 2 percent was applied to music performances at weddings.

WAMI: Music at weddings and celebrations is also subject to royalties, the rate is 2% of the production cost of the event," the statement reads, quoted from Ahmad Dhani's upload, Wednesday, August 13.

In his response, the musician who currently serves as a member of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI) said the regulation actually destroyed the fate of the composers.

"Who made the system, how come it's really messy, it's the fate of the composer of the disaster," he wrote in the description of the upload.

Previously, Robert Mulyarahardja as Head of Corporate Communications & Membership WAMI had confirmed that music performances at wedding parties were also required to pay royalties.

"When music is used in public spaces, there is the right of creators to be paid. The principle is like that," Robert told the media crew recently.

Robert explained that the amount of royalties paid was two percent of the total production costs of the wedding party, including loudspeaker rentals, performer wages, and others.

"For live music that doesn't sell tickets (such as wedding events), the rate is 2 percent of the cost of music production," said Robert.

"It is paid to LMKN (National Collective Management Institute) along with data on the use of songs from the event," he continued.

Furthermore, said Robert, royalties that have been collected will be distributed to copyright holders and related rights.

"And then LMK distributed the royalties to the composer concerned," he said.