#SHOWBIZ: Karyawan: 'Accountability, not more funding, is what artistes need'

PETALING JAYA: Persatuan Karyawan Malaysia (Karyawan) has criticized the Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM) for requesting government funding to promote Malaysian music internationally. In their statement, Karyawan highlighted that the Malaysian Intellectual Property Corporation (MyIPO) had already established guidelines to facilitate the collection and distribution of royalties.

They argued that these guidelines were supposed to benefit artists, yet face legal challenges from Public Performance Malaysia (PPM), the collection body for RIM, and two other collective management organizations. Karyawan questioned the logic of requesting government funds while simultaneously disputing the government's efforts to protect the creators those funds aim to support.

RIM's chairman, Rosmin Hashim, had previously urged the government to establish a dedicated fund in the 2027 budget to help local music reach the global stage. Karyawan disagreed with RIM's claim that digital platforms and collective management organizations have increased creators' incomes. They insisted that the issue is not about funding but accountability.

They emphasized that allocating budgets cannot replace artists receiving their rightful royalties promptly and transparently. Karyawan urged the implementation of MyIPO guidelines to aid artists and commitment to playing local music in government buildings and public transport. They also demanded auditable royalty collection and distribution reports from all collective management organizations, as well as a clear and defined process for artists to question and verify their royalty statements, along with set response timelines.