Karaoke bars in China will be charged for using music videos
from January 1, 2007, the China Audio and Video Association (CAVA)
announced on Sunday despite some Karaoke bar owners'
opposition.
Wang Huapeng, an official with the China Audio-Video Management
Collective (CAVMC) said a dozen heads of its provincial branch
offices attend an internal meeting held by the CAVA Friday,
agreeing the royalties collection will start from January 1,
2007.
The royalties collection will be directly implemented in
well-off cities. For those in less developed regions, local offices
of the CAVA will conduct investigation and set "reasonable payment
rates," Wang said.
The ceiling rate for each private room in Karaoke bars was set
at 12 yuan (US$1.5) per day by the National Copyright
Administration on November 9.
Ten billion yuan (US$1.25 billion) in revenues racked up by the
100,000 karaoke bars in China each year should theoretically
generate 8 million yuan (US$1 million) in royalties for copyright
holders.
(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2006)