Knowing The Role Of Publisher For Song Creators In The Digital Age

Malem-Malem Publishing Discussion (Ivan Two Men/VOI)

JAKARTA - A discussion with the title Malem-Malem Publishing was held to introduce the role of a publisher for songwriters who want to fight for economic rights over their songs.

Taking place in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta on Tuesday, October 25 evening, this discussion presented Aldri Dataviadi, Franki Indrasmoro alias Pepeng and Nadya Fatira as resource persons.

Aldri Dataviadi, the bass player Samsons, who has recently been busy at Massive Music Entertainment, said that the existence of a publisher is like a manager for songwriters.

"You could say that the publisher is the manager of the songwriter. In a simple sense, yes," said Aldri Dataviadi.

"So, what is managed are songs attached to the creator of the song," he continued.

Based on what Massive Music Entertainment does as a publisher, they help songwriters get royalties, especially from mechanical rights and synchronization rights.

"Especially in the digital era that is unavoidable at this time, the publisher is very helpful to make it easier for us to get royalties from various platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and others," said Aldri.

In the discussion, Nadya Fatira shared her experience as a songwriter, which before joining a publisher, her songs were often used without any economic rights.

"I was already a songwriter in 2010, but I don't know what the mechanism is. At that time, suddenly my songs were used in soap operas, FTV, sitcoms, but I don't know if my song produced or not," said Nadya Fatira.

Currently, Nadya Fatira, who has registered her songs with the publisher, has received better economic rights than before, especially when the songs were on digital platforms.

Pepeng, who is a member of Massive Music Entertainment, also feels that songwriters should be more aware of their rights. He suggested that they want to register and their songs to the publisher.

"The role of this publisher is important for the sustainability of the music industry. Whatever the publisher is, it's a good idea for you (songwriters) to register," said Pepeng.

Meanwhile, regarding the difference between the public and digital aggregators, Aldri said there were fundamental differences.

"The difference is, if you are with digital aggregators, you can't meet the person, because everything has been done with the system," he concluded.