KUALA LUMPUR: Music Rights Malaysia (MRM) has urged members under its three affiliated licensing bodies to unite, set aside their differences in interests, and resolve internal issues more professionally.
MRM board member Datuk Norman Abdul Halim said any dissatisfaction over MRM’s management and royalty payments should be channelled to their respective licensing bodies, and not via personal statements on the mass media and social media.
“There are certain issues raised by some quarters through Facebook, television and print media, and this is not a healthy development. If there is any fear of discrepancy or dissatisfaction, it should be channelled to the respective bodies to be brought to the attention of MRM’s board of directors and discussed.
“We (MRM) have responded to the statements but it will not end there, as there will surely be new issues (cropping up) such as in operations, management and even the decisions taken at the MRM board level will not be able to satisfy everyone, because we all have different interests. So it’s hard for us (MRM) to focus on increasing the amount of royalty collected,” he told Bernama here yesterday.
Norman, who is better known as Norman KRU, said the unhealthy development could affect the reputation of MRM, the sole licensing body for music royalty collection in Malaysia.
The situation can also be used as an excuse by radio companies and karaoke centres who use the music, not to pay royalties to MRM, he added.
Norman also called on licensing bodies under the MRM to keep their members informed on issues such as reductions in royalty collection.
The MRM, which came into force in August 2017, is now represented by their three affiliates, namely Music Authors’ Copyright Protection (MACP), Public Performance Malaysia (PPM) and Recording Performers Malaysia Berhad (RPM).
Norman also called on former members of Performers and Artiste Rights (Prism) to join RPM to enable them to continue receiving royalties.
“With this, the welfare of former Prism members will continue to be looked after,” he said.
Prism was once MRM’s major affiliate licensing body but went bankrupt last month. – Bernama
