The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA), led by President Chuga Yeol, announced on the 22nd that it has collected 436.5 billion won in music copyright fees for 2024, marking an increase of 7.38% and 8.95% compared to the previous year, and distributed 423.5 billion won.
In 2024, KOMCA recorded an overall increase in the areas of transmission, broadcasting, performance, and overseas royalties, excluding reproduction fees, expanding its music copyright fee collection results.
Transmission fees generated from video transmission services and music platforms have steadily increased through proactive contract signing and enhanced collection activities, in line with the growth and advancement of domestic and international video transmission services. Notably, the video transmission services, including global streaming platforms like YouTube, surpassed 100 billion won, with total transmission fees for 2024 reaching approximately 198.9 billion won, a 15.5% increase from the previous year's 172.1 billion won.
In the broadcasting fee sector, which had been stagnant for a long time, a significant recovery was achieved with a collection of 44.7 billion won, marking an increase of approximately 49.5% compared to the previous year. In particular, the establishment of the Broadcasting Music Monitoring System (BROMIS), created to resolve long-standing contract issues with broadcasters, was completed in the second half of last year, allowing for the application of agreed management ratios to retroactively collect some amounts from terrestrial broadcasters, contributing to the increase in broadcasting fees.
Performance fees generated from concerts, karaoke, and background music have shown a recovery trend since the COVID-19 period, with a total collection of 54.8 billion won in performance fees for 2024, an increase of about 8.1% compared to 50.7 billion won the previous year. In particular, systematic responses targeting unregistered and long-overdue companies contributed to performance improvement, maintaining stable growth in the performance fee sector.
Overseas royalties totaled 37.7 billion won, representing an increase of approximately 38.1% compared to 27.3 billion won in 2023, continuing a seven-year growth trend based on the global popularity of Korean music, including K-pop.
In 2024, alongside the achievements in overseas royalty collection, the CISAC General Assembly was hosted in South Korea for the first time in 20 years, providing an opportunity for copyright organization representatives from around the world to gather and discuss key issues and strengthen cooperation. This further solidified Korea's central role in the international copyright industry, based on the global popularity of Korean music, especially K-pop.
Meanwhile, reproduction fees generated from the production of CDs and other records decreased by approximately 22.1%, from 119.8 billion won in 2023 to 93.3 billion won in 2024. This decline is attributed to various factors, including an increase in experiential consumption preferences post-COVID-19, environmental issues related to existing plastic CDs, and the accelerated transition to digital platform records, leading to a decrease in record sales. In response, KOMCA stated that it will continue to monitor the potential of the record market and make multifaceted efforts to maintain a stable collection structure in line with trends in the global music market centered around K-pop.
President Chuga Yeol stated, “The year 2024, marking the 60th anniversary of our founding, has been a year in which the association has worked harder to improve the copyright system and build a fair copyright ecosystem,” and added, “We will continue to strengthen the establishment of a transparent and trusted copyright management system to protect the rights of musicians and realize the fair value of their creations.”
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today Reporter]
