Karaoke bar operators in Guangzhou yesterday reiterated their determination to reject a 12-yuan (US$1.5) royalty fee for each room that is due to take effect at the start of the new year.

In response to the official announcement of the fee by the China Audio and Video Association on Sunday, Huang Shiqiu, president of the Guangzhou Cultural and Entertainment Industry Association, said Guangzhou's karaoke bars would reject any unreasonable charge, no matter the size.

The association represents the leading karaoke service providers in Guangzhou.
"National officials turned a deaf ear and blind eye to our opinions when the charge was proposed in early November, and the status quo remains the same," he said.

"We will continue to oppose the charge," he added.

Members of the association defended their position by saying that neither the China Audio and Video Association nor the soon-to-established China Audio and Video Collective Administration Association, which have been charged with collecting the royalty fees on behalf of copyright holders, are legally authorized to do so.

Association members said basing fees on the number of karaoke rooms would be irrational and unscientific and that the 12-yuan fee would be too high to bear.

Huang said few copyright holders have entrusted the China Audio and Video Association to collect royalties for them, much less the China Audio and Video Collective Administration Association, which does not yet exist.

He added that the 12-yuan fee for each room would be unreasonably high since many rooms are unoccupied during the weekdays.

Guangzhou has about 1,000 karaoke facilities, each with an average of 40 rooms. This means that Guangzhou karaoke businesses would have to hand over a combined 480,000 yuan (US$59,186) every day, regardless of how much business they do.

"We are willing to pay, but to whom, how and how much?" Huang said. He said Guangzhou's karaoke operators would resort to litigation to settle any future disputes.

He also suggested that the charge should be subject to negotiations with the payers, and that any fees should be based on the pieces of music actually played.

Xu Xuan, vice-president of the Intellectual Property Rights School at Ji'nan University in Guangzhou, echoed Huang's statements.

"A fee regime based on each piece of music would be more reasonable since some pieces of music are more popular than others. Those music products whose copyright protections have expired should be free," Xu said.

(China Daily December 26, 2006)