Copyright fees of 24 billion won for four individuals? KOMCA: "Suspending payments due to YouTube abuse, conducting additional verification" [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) stated that it is suspending the payment of copyright fees to certain rights holders and conducting additional verification in connection with allegations of so-called "YouTube abuse" raised during the National Assembly's legislative audit.

On the 12th, Jin Seon-mi (Rep.) of the Democratic Party of Korea pointed out issues with a new monetization method that artificially induces the use of specific audio sources to generate large amounts of copyright fees, raising concerns about the fairness of copyright fee distribution during the National Assembly's legislative audit by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.

According to KOMCA, there are four rights holders involved in this case, with a total of 802 registered audio tracks. The copyright fees currently requested for payment amount to approximately 24 billion won, and including amounts already distributed, the related scale is estimated to exceed 30 billion won.

KOMCA maintains that this issue goes beyond the problem of paying copyright fees to certain rights holders, as it concerns the rights and interests of all music creators and the fairness of distribution.

The core of the allegations lies in whether the usage records for specific audio tracks resulted from normal music consumption or were artificially increased for the purpose of economic compensation.

Some Shorts audio monetization platforms operated by paying a portion of the revenue generated when video producers used specific music. KOMCA raised the possibility that usage records occurred with the aim of generating copyright fee revenue, such as using music unrelated to the video content or inserting audio tracks in a way that made them virtually inaudible.

YouTube copyright fees are structured by distributing royalties received from the platform based on usage records for each work. KOMCA is concerned that if the usage volume of specific audio tracks is artificially increased, raising their distribution share, the copyright fees accruing to other creators may decrease.

However, the association takes the position that additional verification is needed regarding the appropriateness of the usage records for the relevant audio tracks. KOMCA is reviewing the operational methods and contractual relationships of the related Shorts audio monetization platforms and is sharing relevant information with overseas copyright organizations.

Verification regarding suspicions of AI generation is also underway. As a result of commissioning 791 relevant audio tracks secured by KOMCA to an overseas AI music analysis company, the possibility of AI generation appeared in some of the tracks. However, since there are differences in results depending on the analysis institutional investor, further confirmation is needed regarding whether they were actually produced by AI and the extent of human creative contribution.

Meanwhile, the police made a decision not to refer the case for prosecution on June 30 due to insufficient evidence. KOMCA has applied for an investigative review of this decision.

After the police's decision not to refer the case, KOMCA reconsidered whether to lift the suspension of copyright fee payments, but at its board meeting on September 29, it determined that further verification of the factual circumstances was necessary and decided to maintain the payment suspension.

A KOMCA official stated, "If they are legitimate copyright fees, they should naturally be paid, but paying a large sum without sufficient verification in a situation where serious doubts have been raised about the appropriateness of distribution is also an issue that requires caution," adding, "We must verify not only the payment demands of certain rights holders but also whether the fair distribution shares of other creators have been infringed upon."

The official added, "We will thoroughly verify the factual circumstances related to the allegations raised during the legislative audit and review necessary follow-up measures in cooperation with relevant institutional investors and overseas copyright organizations."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original