LMKN Gives 2 Years to Unclaimed Royalties to Copyright Holders

Illustration of music royalties (freepik)

JAKARTA - The National Collective Management Institution (LMKN) has made a new breakthrough in transparency in the management of music royalties in the country.

For the first time, LMKN officially announced the existence of royalty funds that have not been claimed (unclaimed) with a fantastic figure of IDR 33,021,150,878.

LMKN Commissioner, Ahmad Ali Fahmi, emphasized that this step was taken to ensure that the rights of song creators and related rights owners can be delivered accurately.

"This is the first time since the royalty system has been in Indonesia, or for decades, the announcement of unclaimed usage data has been made for the first time," Ahmad Ali Fahmi told the media at the LMKN Office, Kuningan, South Jakarta, recently.

"This means that these are songs that have never been claimed by their rights holders. We announce this," he continued.

Based on the data collected, the total funds of Rp. 33 billion include almost 2 million uses of songs. LMKN estimates that there are around 30,000 to 300,000 rights holders who have not picked up their economic rights.

As a follow-up, LMKN has given a two-year deadline for the right holders to carry out the claim process. If in that period the funds are not taken, then according to the applicable regulations, the funds will be transferred to the reserve fund position.

Regarding technical procedures, musicians or copyright owners are required to verify through the official LMKN website. However, Fahmi emphasized that the final distribution process must still go through the official Collective Management Institution (LMK).

"We have announced this per day and later we will also have a newspaper announcement to access our website page to carry out the claiming process. Later the claiming process will go to the claim menu, later we will verify it at LMKN. We will direct each right holder to become a member of the LMK," concluded Fahmi.

For rights holders who feel that their work is used commercially but have not received royalties, it is hoped that they will immediately check the database on the official LMKN website.

This transparency is expected to be able to improve the Indonesian music industry ecosystem to be healthier and more accountable in the future.