SIGNING OF LANDMARK MOU BETWEEN RECORD LABELS, MUSIC PUBLISHERS AND MACP FOR DIGITAL ROYALTIES 31 October 2008, Kuala Lumpur – A new era of cooperation and understanding was achieved in the Malaysian music industry today with the signing of a historic Memorandum of Understanding between the record labels (members of the Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (“RIM”), the music publishers together with the publishers’ collective representative – Music Authors’ Copyright Protection (MACP) Berhad (“MACP”). The tri-party MOU is significant as it paves the way for greater partnerships amongst the MOU signatories and also sets out a mutually acceptable licensing arrangement for past, present and future digital usage of musical works embodied in music recordings by all music users – record labels, content aggregators and telecommunications companies alike. This breakthrough will enable the music industry to respond faster to the growing needs of music consumers in the country and the rapidly changing modes of delivering music content. During the Press Conference, the RIM Chairman, Mr Sandy Monteiro also presented a RM1.0 million cheque to MACP Chairperson, Pn Habsah Hassan as a good faith advance payment of royalties due for digital usage of musical works by RIM members. Pn Habsah Hassan at the Press Conference said “This has been a long awaited moment for MACP and it is very positive that all parties in the music industry are willing to work together to achieve a practical solution which is workable in Malaysia. We thank the music publishers’ for the confidence in MACP via the appointment as their licensing representative to manage their reproduction rights in the digital era. We will work closely with relevant parties to ensure the success of this MOU.” [ previous news ]