LMKN launches new music royalty scheme for 2026

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The National Collective Management Institution (LMKN) has set a 2026 policy on distributing and allocating song and music royalties to address ongoing issues in royalty distribution, particularly challenges related to music usage data.

“We want to ensure that every creator receives their rights fairly. With a data-driven approach and complementary schemes such as Unlogged Performance Allocation (UPA), royalty distribution will be more proportional and accountable,” said Andi Mulhanan Tombolotutu, Chairman of the LMKN Creators Association, on Tuesday.

In the latest formulation, LMKN divides distribution mechanisms into two categories: based on song usage data (log sheets) and without data (non-log sheets).

For users who submit data, royalties will be distributed directly based on usage. For those who do not, alternative approaches such as sampling, proxy, and UPA are used.

UPA is a complementary distribution scheme to maintain balance amidst data limitations.

However, LMKN has set a limitation: members who receive only UPA for two consecutive periods without data-based distribution will no longer be eligible for UPA in the following period.

Furthermore, royalty distribution is also determined based on the portion of each Collective Management Institution (LMK), which is calculated from the royalty rates contributed by various commercial user categories.

The Chairman of the LMKN for Related Rights Owners, Marcell Siahaan, emphasized the importance of transparency in this new system.

According to him, data quality is key in determining the amount of royalties received by music industry players.

“Going forward, we encourage all music users to be more disciplined in submitting song usage data. The more accurate the data, the more accurate the distribution will be. This is a step towards a more transparent and equitable system,” Siahaan said.

The new policy is the result of a joint discussion between LMKN and LMK on April 15, 2026, and refers to Law Number 28 of 2014 concerning Copyright and Government Regulation Number 56 of 2021.

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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source en.antaranews.com ’