Recently, the news that Rose (Blackpink) withdrew from the Korea Music copyright Association (KOMCA) caused a stir in public opinion.
In the future, all of Rose's music rights will be managed by an American publisher. The proceeds will be distributed by her current management company, Atlantic Records, based in the US.
Dispatch believes that Rose is active in the US, so she withdrew from KOMCA to be able to manage her copyright more effectively. Some say that Rose does not need to manage copyright separately in both the US and South Korea because she will have to pay double the fee.
Rose's withdrawal from KOMCA caused a stir, because she is a rare artist who has stopped collaborating with this organization for over 20 years.
Because the way music copyright management organizations around the world collect money and distribute percentages to parties is different.
In the US, 12.3% of streaming revenue belongs to copyright owners; in the UK, this figure is 16% and in Germany is 15%. In South Korea, the figure is just 10.5%, down 1.8% to 5.5% from major overseas countries.
As in Korea, song revenue must go through many layers before reaching the author, including distributors and some copyright management organizations.
Experts believe that because Rose works both in Korea and abroad, she has to pay fees for both international publishers and pay fees again for domestic copyright groups such as KOMCA.
This double deduction significantly reduces the singer's final income. While major streaming platform deals (such as Apple Music) could give Rose 100% of revenue, the use of rights management channels in Korea could reduce that number to just 60-70%.
In contrast, many foreign artists only work with a single publisher to manage their copyright and income, creating a more efficient and creator-friendly system.
According to Hollywood Report, Spotify alone paid $10 billion in royalties in 2024. Of which, 5 billion USD was paid to indie artists (independent activities).
Mr. Sam Duboff, Spotify's global marketing and policy director, affirmed that the number shows the great opportunities that artists can look for.
"Currently, many artists are choosing to go the main path for big record labels to get better investment and resources. Independent record labels are in the middle and have pre-production management services, but artists will enjoy better revenue. After that, artists can even work independently, keep 100% of their copyright to themselves and promote their own songs," Mr. Sam Duboff shared.
Spotify reported that more than 1,500 musicians will receive over $1 million in royalties (over VND26 billion) in 2024, showing that musicians can earn a fortune from online music release platforms.
Online music publishers use registered revenue and royalties for music copyright holders, including record labels, publishers and other copyright management units that own song list copyright.
In addition, authors will receive many other sources of income from copyright, such as physical products (CD, soundtrack, music video, live shows using songs, synchronized releases ( film adaptations, musicals, etc.).
