Indonesia Urges ASEAN to Reform Digital Music Royalty Framework
Badung, The Gulf Observer: Indonesia is advocating for fairer and more transparent rules governing digital-era music royalties across Southeast Asia, using the 78th ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) meeting as a platform to push for regional reforms.
Director General of Intellectual Property at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Hermansyah Siregar, stated on Monday that Indonesia is leveraging the forum to promote sustainable intellectual property governance amid rapid digital transformation.
He emphasized that royalty fairness is a shared concern among developing nations within Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), requiring coordinated and collective solutions.
Indonesia has formally proposed a Legally Binding Instrument on the Governance of Copyright Royalties in the Digital Environment, aimed at enhancing transparency, accountability, and equitable remuneration for creators across the region.
The initiative is aligned with ASEAN’s 2030 Intellectual Property Action Plan and reflects growing urgency to address structural challenges arising from the expansion of digital streaming platforms.
Siregar noted that the rise of streaming services has exposed significant gaps in the global royalty distribution system, which continues to fall short in delivering fair compensation to creators, particularly in developing economies.
Key challenges identified include fragmented metadata systems, lack of transparency in royalty calculations, and disproportionate payment structures that disadvantage artists from emerging markets.
Indonesia’s proposal also seeks to harmonize regional governance frameworks with internationally recognized principles promoted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), while encouraging ASEAN to play a more proactive role in shaping global intellectual property standards.
“As creativity and the digital market are both global, royalty governance must evolve toward more equitable international cooperation,” Siregar added.
