Karaoke bar operators in Guangzhou yesterday reiterated their
determination to reject a 12-yuan (US$1.5) royalty fee for each
room that is due to take effect at the start of the new year.
In response to the official announcement of the fee by the China
Audio and Video Association on Sunday, Huang Shiqiu, president of
the Guangzhou Cultural and Entertainment Industry Association, said
Guangzhou's karaoke bars would reject any unreasonable charge, no
matter the size.
The association represents the leading karaoke service providers
in Guangzhou.
"National officials turned a deaf ear and blind eye to our opinions
when the charge was proposed in early November, and the status quo
remains the same," he said.
"We will continue to oppose the charge," he added.
Members of the association defended their position by saying
that neither the China Audio and Video Association nor the
soon-to-established China Audio and Video Collective Administration
Association, which have been charged with collecting the royalty
fees on behalf of copyright holders, are legally authorized to do
so.
Association members said basing fees on the number of karaoke
rooms would be irrational and unscientific and that the 12-yuan fee
would be too high to bear.
Huang said few copyright holders have entrusted the China Audio
and Video Association to collect royalties for them, much less the
China Audio and Video Collective Administration Association, which
does not yet exist.
He added that the 12-yuan fee for each room would be
unreasonably high since many rooms are unoccupied during the
weekdays.
Guangzhou has about 1,000 karaoke facilities, each with an
average of 40 rooms. This means that Guangzhou karaoke businesses
would have to hand over a combined 480,000 yuan (US$59,186) every
day, regardless of how much business they do.
"We are willing to pay, but to whom, how and how much?" Huang
said. He said Guangzhou's karaoke operators would resort to
litigation to settle any future disputes.
He also suggested that the charge should be subject to
negotiations with the payers, and that any fees should be based on
the pieces of music actually played.
Xu Xuan, vice-president of the Intellectual Property Rights
School at Ji'nan University in Guangzhou, echoed Huang's
statements.
"A fee regime based on each piece of music would be more
reasonable since some pieces of music are more popular than others.
Those music products whose copyright protections have expired
should be free," Xu said.
(China Daily December 26, 2006)