Distributing royalties

1 Introduction

1. 1.a The Myanmar Music Content Organization (hereafter “MMCO”) is established under section 60(a) of the Copyright Law.
2. 1.b Under section 62(c) of that Law, MMCO acts to distribute royalty entitlements to its member rights holders.
3. 1.c MMCO administers members’ copyright interests and the rights they have entrusted to it, on terms mutually agreed.
4. 1.d These distribution rules are adopted by decision of the board for the purpose of distributing the royalties collected, and will be revised as required.

2 How distribution works

1. 2.a Having collected the royalties due on a member’s published or created works, MMCO distributes the amounts received from each medium — applications, YouTube and international streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify and Tidal — once every three months, according to the period in which they were received.

3 Categories of royalty distributed

1. 3.a Related rights royalties — collected from businesses that use recorded music commercially. For example:

• use on FM radio;
• use in singing competitions;
• broadcast by television stations;
• music played at events;
• music played in shopping centres;
• music used in karaoke establishments.

1. 3.b Mechanical royalties — advances for physical distribution, and digital distribution (non-interactive, interactive and digital download).
2. 3.c Synchronisation royalties — advances for the use of existing works in film, and advances for the recording rights in a current work or version.
3. 3.d Printing royalties — the publication of a songbook containing the works of an MMCO member.

4 Shares

Where there is a contract between the producer and the artists (the owners of copyright and related rights), master rights are divided as that contract provides. Where no such terms exist, master rights are divided as set out below.

1. 4.a Aggregators implementing the work jointly with MMCO take 20% of everything collected from users as their operating fee, and the remainder is divided among the copyright owner and the related rights owners — producer, composer, singer, musicians and recording engineer.

4.b — Where an original contract exists between the owners of copyright and related rights, distribution follows that contract. Where there is none, the artists’ fee received from the servicing organisations is divided as follows:

Composer

25%

Singer

25%

Producer / MMCO

25%

Musicians

15%

Recording engineer

10%

1. 4.c From the producer’s share of the royalty, MMCO takes 5%, and the remaining 95% is paid to the producer concerned.

5 Administration of music programmes

1. 5.a MMCO examines the data received from users of its members’ music — FM radio, singing competitions, television stations, online platforms, telecom services, karaoke establishments, events and shopping centres — and supports its members with it.
2. 5.b Royalties received from users are divided as set out in 4.b above. Where royalties are received whose owner is unknown, MMCO announces this in the newspapers and on social media, and distributes the amount if the owner comes forward. Royalties that remain unclaimed are held by the organisation for three years; beyond three years they are put to the board, which decides on their use as funds of the organisation.