Last but not least: singing for the treasury
It’s no secret that discussions about copyright are taking some strange turns. The most remarkable of these developments currently comes from China. There, the government plans to profit from people’s love of singing by imposing a karaoke tax.
The world is already familiar with the fact that discussions about copyright produce strange blossoms. The most beautiful of these blossoms currently comes from the Middle Kingdom. There, the state wants to profit from the singing enthusiasm of its inhabitants with a karaoke tax in the future. Of course, the West is to blame for the misery that will soon spoil the Chinese their favorite pastime. After Western nations increasingly demanded consistent copyright regulations in China, the state now wants to charge the operators of the numerous karaoke bars for the use of songs and video clips. The official justification: In the future, authors and artists should also profit. How, however, is still unclear. The Ministry of Culture and the National Copyright Administration (NCAC) are still arguing about who will be allowed to collect the fees.
If this tax is actually implemented and consistently collected, the music industry could earn around $375 million annually. That would be more money than is earned in China from CD sales. In the past, the music industry had therefore already tried to collect money from karaoke clubs. Hundreds of reminders were sent out, and in 2004 a lawsuit was even filed in court. However, the rights holders have not really been able to earn much in this way so far. If the collection of license fees is handled by the state in the future, the latter could also retain a tidy share for itself. Apparently, a database is being planned that would even allow the ministry to weed out undesirable titles. This would close the circle to the already prevailing censorship problem in China. Some karaoke bars are also likely to close. Operators fear a sharp decline in business as a result of higher prices.
If this tax is actually implemented and consistently collected, the music industry could earn around $375 million annually. That would be more money than is earned in China from CD sales. In the past, the music industry had therefore already tried to collect money from karaoke clubs. Hundreds of reminders were sent out, and in 2004 a lawsuit was even filed in court. However, the rights holders have not really been able to earn much in this way so far. If the collection of license fees is handled by the state in the future, the latter could also retain a tidy share for itself. Apparently, a database is being planned that would even allow the ministry to weed out undesirable titles. This would close the circle to the already prevailing censorship problem in China. Some karaoke bars are also likely to close. Operators fear a sharp decline in business as a result of higher prices.
