Major Korean record labels form committee to deal with OTT issue

Eleven members of the newly-formed Broadcasting Transmission Committee (translated). [KOREA MUSIC CONTENT ASSOCIATION]

Major Korean record labels formed a committee for a coordinated response toward over-the-top (OTT) streaming services using their music, according to the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) on Wednesday.

The KMCA announced that eleven of its members, which include major domestic and multinational record labels, launched the Broadcasting Transmission Committee (translated).

The eleven members include K-pop powerhouses HYBE, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, along with Yejeon Media, RBW, NHN Bugs, Danal Entertainment, Universal Music Korea, Sony Music Entertainment Korea and Warner Music Korea.

The committee will discuss key issues and policies regarding OTT and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) platforms’ usage of music in their video-on-demand (VOD) services, which has been a long-standing feud.

The committee said while the platforms should grow in order to expand the market, there also needs to be a system that profits copyright holders as well. It aims to establish a cooperative system between copyright holders and users.

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]