Sabah seeks to protect indigenous artistes’ compensation rights over licensing, royalty distribution

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is taking steps to guard local indigenous artistes’ payment legal rights in excess of licensing and royalty distribution for all ethnic tracks in the Sabah location and in Labuan, says Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan.

The Deputy Main Minister stated the state will put together a Cupboard paper to endorse Audio Rights Sabah (MRS) Bhd as a licensing agency to shield the artistes’ rights, primarily in ensuring honest compensation.

He claimed the Copyright Act 1987 has in no way been applied fairly for Sabah ethnic songs for the past 35 many years.

“Local artistes have extensive been neglected and their efforts in manufacturing significant excellent and entertaining ethnic music have not acquired satisfactory assistance in the previous 35 several years,” he claimed in a statement in this article.

“For example, a musician discovered that final calendar year, he only received RM13.57 for a single of his strike tracks. A peninsula Malaysian artiste would have been given at least RM200.

“It is no shock then that our most gifted artistes are flocking to the peninsula since they can make a much better price tag for their music there,” explained Kitingan, who met with MRS board customers led by its running director Asmin Mudin on Friday.

MRS is hoping to get Sabah’s endorsement as a licensing human body to guard area ethnic artistes’ legal rights, specifically in phrases of compensation.