Japan creates public performance right for recorded music

The Japanese government has approved an amendment to the Japanese Copyright Act regarding music playback in public spaces. Performing artists and record companies will now be paid when their recorded music is played publicly. Previously, only songwriters and composers automatically received royalties. It also means that Japanese performers should now be paid equivalent royalties from abroad – because those systems depend on reciprocal agreements, Japanese artists couldn’t collect royalties from use abroad as Japan didn’t offer the same right to foreign artists.

This updated law brings Japan in line with international standards – before this new rule, 142 countries already had this system, and among OECD nations, now only the USA lacks it. We now get to watch a major music nation setup a royalty collection and distribution system: The Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs will designate specific organisations to handle this collection plus draft royalty fee regulations, consult with music user groups (like bar and shopping representative organisations.)

You can read our recent Country Profile on Japan here.