On the 26th, four music organizations including the Korea Management Federation, Korea Entertainment Producers Association, Korea Music Label Industry Association, and Korea Music Content Association issued a joint statement refuting the recent official position announced by the Choreography Copyright Association, urging for rational discussions and public discourse rather than emotional public opinion battles.
They criticized the Choreography Copyright Association for generalizing certain cases as a problem across K-pop and depicting producers as 'exploiters,' stating that this approach is close to distorting the facts. They particularly pointed out that sensational expressions like “profit appropriation” are detached from the actual production environment and that there has been no official discussion with the record producers, who are the actual parties involved.
They also stated that choreography is already protected as 'dance' under copyright law, and separating it for specific regulation is not equitable. They added concerns that introducing standard contracts or revenue distribution systems without sufficient discussion could exacerbate confusion in the industry.
Emphasizing the need for protective measures before the introduction of systems, such as the potential for realistic copyright disputes over collaborative choreography, they made it clear that discussions should be based on facts, not emotions.
In conclusion, they emphasized that they do not deny the contributions of choreographers, but that true mutual growth is needed based on a balanced understanding of the industry. They expressed hope for discussions on systems that include all stakeholders.
Below is the full statement from the four music organizations
The Choreography Copyright Association is urged to stop its unilateral demands for system implementation and engage in reasonable and sincere agreements.
March 26, 2025.
Korea Management Federation, Korea Entertainment Producers Association, Korea Music Label Industry Association, Korea Music Content Association
We, the four music organizations representing the rights of record producers and affiliated artists, express our position regarding the official statement from the Choreography Copyright Association as follows.
We deeply agree with the Choreography Copyright Association's assertion that the continuous development of the K-pop industry must be premised on smooth communication and mutual growth among stakeholders.
However, the series of actions taken by the Choreography Copyright Association until recently seems to contradict this assertion. Since last year, the Choreography Copyright Association has continuously appealed to the government and the public, generalizing a few isolated cases between record producers and choreographers as if they represent the entire K-pop phenomenon, portraying record producers as engaging in abuse and exploitation of choreographers. Even if there was a pure intention behind the institutionalization of choreography copyright and the improvement of choreographers' rights, the means appear excessive and biased, losing balance.
I would like to ask why the choreographers, who claim that cooperation is essential, and the Choreography Copyright Association have not even attempted a single official discussion with the record producers, the actual parties involved, while inciting public opinion against them. If they have been in the K-pop industry for a long time, they should have been aware that the distribution of platform profits is not determined by record producers, yet they have omitted direct consultations with record producers and have misled the public by mentioning “music videos with tens of billions of views,” which are extremely exceptional cases within the K-pop industry, as a reasonable and just solution.
In fact, the claims made by the Choreography Copyright Association without proper verification are not limited to this.
Recently, a total of 1,064 record producers entered information into the Circle Chart system operated by the Korea Music Content Association for music broadcast rankings. Among them, only 216 record producers, or about 20% of the total, registered dance songs that are presumed to be related to choreography in the last three years.
The remaining 80% of record producers deal with genres unrelated to choreography, such as ballads.
Furthermore, the transfer of choreography copyright is intended to facilitate the easy use of choreography in various performances, such as concerts, to promote the smooth activities of artists, not to expect or appropriate profits arising from choreography copyright.
However, the Choreography Copyright Association has framed the situation as if most record producers force choreographers to sign choreography copyright transfer contracts against their will and take away all rights to the choreography, damaging the image of numerous record producers. They continue to make contradictory claims that could worsen the production environment for small and medium-sized record producers who are struggling with financial difficulties while talking about “mutual growth.”
Record producers do not deny the fact that choreographers have contributed to the development of the K-pop industry or the choreography copyright itself, as claimed by the Choreography Copyright Association. Conversely, choreographers should also recognize that as part of the K-pop industry, the sacrifices and investments of record producers, which played a pivotal role in the global recognition of artists, have enabled the existence of today’s choreographers.
In this regard, record producers express the following position regarding the system improvement measures stated in the official statement from the Choreography Copyright Association.
First, amend the copyright law to specify choreography as an independent work and clearly define the rights of choreographers.
▶ The current copyright law explicitly includes choreography works as a protected subject. It is not equitable to separately define “choreography” as the Choreography Copyright Association claims.
However, we are willing to cooperate sufficiently with measures necessary for the improvement of choreographers' rights through future discussions, and we hope that balanced discussions based on facts can take place.
Second, introduce a standard contract that includes fair contract terms and revenue distribution methods.
▶ K-pop choreography is a special type where music and dance are inextricably linked, and copyright laws in countries where similar popular cultural arts industries have developed, such as the United States and Japan, do not recognize separate claims for revenue distribution for choreography.
Revenue distribution should be determined within a reasonable range, considering equity with other fields such as music, and cannot be indefinitely recognized based on ambiguous and unclear criteria such as “platform view revenue distribution.”
The hasty introduction of a standard contract could cause significant confusion and disputes in the industry, so sufficient discussions must precede it.
Third, establish a transparent and efficient choreography copyright management system.
▶ Before establishing a choreography copyright management system, the criteria and methods for determining the rights to be managed through that system must be specified, and protective measures for record producers must be established.
We, the four organizations, express concern that disputes among choreographers could lead to the suspension or restriction of choreography use. For example, if multiple choreographers participated in the final choreography, disputes over copyright shares among choreographers could result in the suspension or restriction of the use of the choreography and the music works utilizing it. In such disputes, the right of record producers to freely use the choreography must be guaranteed.
Fourth, form a consultative body involving various stakeholders, including record producers, choreographers, and platform operators.
▶ Before forming a consultative body, it is essential to stop the provocative media reports that have generalized fragmented facts and unilaterally spread negative images of record producers to the government and the public. In particular, unfounded claims that record producers exploit platform profits or force or induce the signing of choreography copyright transfer contracts should be corrected by the Choreography Copyright Association based on accurate facts.
The Choreography Copyright Association claims that it has formed a consultative body and held several meetings, but participation from music organizations has been low. However, in reality, there have been very few instances where the consultative body has requested participation from music organizations or attempted to gather opinions. In fact, even without a separate request from the Choreography Copyright Association, music organizations voluntarily attended the 2024 presentation on strengthening choreography copyright protection measures to listen to opinions.
These facts serve as evidence that the claims of the Choreography Copyright Association do not adequately reflect the opinions of the entire industry and that there is a need to restart in-depth discussions among various stakeholders in the industry from the beginning.
We, the four music organizations, will not represent only the opinions of some record producers in our discussions on this matter. We will engage in in-depth discussions to derive reasonable proposals that can lead to mutual growth for the entire industry.
No system can satisfy all stakeholders.
However, we, the four music organizations, remain firm in our position that various factual relationships must be reviewed and that the needs of the weak, such as small and medium-sized record producers and unknown choreographers, must be considered before the introduction of any system.
We hope that sincere discussions will take place so that the expressions “mutual growth” and “cooperation” do not lose their meaning.
[Lee Da-kyum, Star Today Reporter]
