Historically, legislation related to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) has existed in Indonesia since the pre-independence period introduced by the Dutch Colonial Government. In this case, the Dutch Government promulgated 3 types of IPR, namely the Trademark Law (Law) in 1885, the Patent Law (1910), and the Copyright Law (1912). After Indonesia’s independence, legislation related to IPR, especially copyright, was also adopted and enforced even though several challenges accompanied it (1).
According to the Directorate General of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia, copyright is the exclusive right of the creator that arises automatically based on the declarative principle after a work is realized in a tangible form without reducing restrictions under the provisions of laws and regulations. In the context of music copyright, the granting of copyright authorizes songwriters to regulate the making of copies of songs and prohibits other parties from reproducing without permission. This protection itself applies for the lifetime of the creator and can continue up to 70 years after the creator dies (1).
Transformation in the digital era has brought about major changes in Indonesia’s music industry, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. The adoption of digital technology and the latest music consumption styles are some of the factors driving the rapid development of the music industry. In addition, the emergence of various music streaming applications has had a major influence on local Indonesian musicians. Spotify, which is one of the world’s largest music streaming platforms, even mentioned that the growth of Indonesian musicians is massive and has been listened to by new listeners more than 5.1 billion times. This shows that streaming applications provide artists with a direct opportunity to reach listeners around the world and encourage the development of musicians to continue working, not only on the national scene, but also internationally (2).
Seeing these developments, copyright protection in Indonesia has become an important issue to discuss in this digital era. Streaming platforms are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, streaming platforms provide a great opportunity for musicians to introduce their songs globally, on the other hand this opportunity also provides an opportunity for irresponsible parties to commit copyright infringement, one of which is song piracy.
One of the musicians who experienced a song piracy case was Mahalini with her song “Sial”. An irresponsible party has re-uploaded his song on one of the streaming services, and changed the name of the singer and songwriter to Rama-Chan (3). Another piracy case also happened to musician Nadin Amizah. One of her songs, “Rayuan Perempuan Gila” was changed to a speed up format by someone on social media. This certainly causes losses to the musician, especially if the recording is commercialized.
Song piracy cases can also occur on MP3 music service provider sites. MP3 is a form of digital music that can be downloaded for free via the Internet. There are still a handful of people who use these free music services, so this can harm musicians because they do not get the royalties they should get. Although some of these MP3 service sites have been banned and closed by the government, there are still many irresponsible parties who reopen these services.
On the other hand, there is a lack of public awareness of the importance of the growth of the music industry, especially in Indonesia, including the MP3 free download service. Although Indonesia already has regulations relating to copyright, so far the law enforcement process related to copyright infringement is not strong and slow. Evaluation of the improvement of regulations related to music piracy is very necessary. In addition, it is also necessary to strengthen sanctions for pirates or violators, in order to minimize the incidence of piracy continues to mushroom (3).
In addition, another problem is that the presence of digital music streaming platforms is not matched by policies that can protect creators and their works. Based on existing regulations, namely Law Number 28 of 2014 concerning Copyright, it has not kept up with the development of the increasingly modern music industry. However, before the presence of digital platforms, the government’s commitment to protect musicians’ rights was already weak. Several articles should protect but there are provisions that weaken the position of musicians. The law does not specifically regulate digital music copyrights, including the consequences of digitization that involve many actors. Whereas now most musicians and songwriters in Indonesia release and promote their work through digital platforms (4).
The enactment of the first Copyright Law in 1982 was driven by pressure from domestic industries and international trade organizations to campaign for anti-piracy rhetoric. Ultimately, there was a fear that digitization would become an opportunity for a new model of piracy. Piracy of physical copies and technology is one of the factors that make copyright policy in Indonesia stutter in regulating the digital music sphere. This is because existing policies still identify ‘digital’ as a format, not a more modern change in the music industry.
A digital royalty governance system that is more transparent and in favor of musicians is also one of the important homework to be completed. Unfortunately, the increasingly intense use of musical works in Indonesia’s digital world is not accompanied by the protection of the rights of musicians. The economic reward or value that should be received by musicians in Indonesia is not appropriate and is still far from the word “Ideal”.
Research Coordinator of the Indonesian Arts Coalition, Ratri Ninditya stated that Law No.28 of 2014 on Copyright is considered unable to protect musicians in the current digital music industry. Moreover, the existing copyright law has not been in favor of musicians and gives space to intermediary parties. According to them, the voice of musicians is the least heard and marginalized when compared to other parties due to the Copyright Law. The coalition also found an industry situation that is increasingly exploitative towards musicians. Digital streaming platform access providers have created new actors such as the platform itself, aggregators, record labels and others. In this case, musicians with new actors in the digital music realm are developing more complex with various conflicting interests. Digital platforms in Indonesia themselves provide very small rates for musicians. In fact, when compared to Malaysia, online streaming platform rates in Indonesia are still much lower (5). Therefore, government intervention is needed so that the digital platforms can reconsider the ideal rates for musicians.
In the end, Indonesia’s music industry in the digital era still has a lot of homework to do. Strict law enforcement for song pirates, protection of musicians’ rights and improved regulations are some of the main issues to be resolved. Although in November 2024, the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia promised to improve this system, further oversight is still needed to ensure that the Indonesian music industry can be a safe place for musicians to work.
Reference:
1. Dirjen KI. Hak Cipta. Direktorat Jenderal Kekayaan Intelektual, Kementerian Hukum dan HAM RI. [Online] [Cited: November 22, 2024.] https://www.dgip.go.id/menu-utama/hak-cipta/pengenalan.
2. VOI. Spotify Ungkap Perkembangan Pesat Musisi Indonesia di Kancah Musik Global. VOI.Id. [Online] July 17, 2024. [Cited: November 22, 2024.] https://voi.id/musik/399651/spotify-ungkap-perkembangan-pesat-musisi-indonesia-di-kancah-musik-global.
3. Unair. Potensi dan Tantangan Industri Musik di Indonesia. Universitas Airlangga News. [Online] 4 18, 2024. [Cited: November 22, 2024.] https://unair.ac.id/potensi-dan-tantangan-industri-musik-di-indonesia/.
4. Nabila, Kintan. Hypereport: Risiko Pembajakan di Tengah Maraknya Platform Streaming Musik Digital. Hype Abis. [Online] 8 1, 2023. [Cited: November 22, 2024.] https://hypeabis.id/read/26459/hypereport-risiko-pembajakan-di-tengah-maraknya-platform-streaming-musik-digital.
5. Ikhlasanti, Amalia and Malawi, D P. Siaran Pers: Royalti Hak Musisi, Bukan Cuan Industri. Koalisi Seni. [Online] 10 26, 2024. [Cited: November 22, 2024.] https://koalisiseni.or.id/siaran-pers-royalti-hak-musisi-bukan-cuan-industri/.