Music Authors’ Copyright Protection (MACP) Berhad, Public Performance Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (PPM) and Recording Performers Malaysia Berhad (RPM) have received their certificates of declaration as a licensing body from the Malaysian government, as announced at a joint press conference today.

“We are pleased with the Government’s decision to declare MACP as the first Licensing Body in Malaysia in September last year. This recognition encourages us to work harder for more revenue to be distributed to our song writers and publishers who have remained united under MACP for over 23 years.” said Puan Habsah Hassan, the MACP Chairperson.

MACP is a non-profit organization established in 1989, whose main function is to license music users (radio and television stations, entertainment and commercial establishments, events organisers, online and mobile service providers) and pay the songwriters and publishers when their works are publicly performed, communicated to the public or reproduced in the digital environment. Through reciprocal agreements with other similar organisations worldwide, MACP also licenses international musical works belonging to these organizations in Malaysia. MACP’s membership comprise over 3,100 writers locally and 2 million foreign composers and authors worldwide and represents a repertoire of over 12 million musical works.

Mr. Adrian Lim, the Chairman for PPM, is pleased that the government has acknowledged the role the bodies have been playing for the industry. “Being the oldest collective body that was incorporated on the 3rd of September 1988, PPM is fully committed to providing collective services for the benefit of music consumers and recording companies in Malaysia.” he added. PPM is a licensing body whose functions are recognised under the Copyright Act of 1987 (Act 332) to represent RIM’s members in respect of the collective licensing of the public performance, broadcast, reproduction and commercial rental of their copyrighted sound, music video and karaoke recordings in Malaysia.

Incorporated on 18th October 2011, RPM is a body that represents sound recording artistes and musicians, with Dato’ Hajjah Sheila Majid , Mohd Faizal Maas or Ajai, , Jaclyn Victor, Tan Kheng Seong (Aniu 阿牛) and Ana Raffali sitting in its first Board of Directors.

One of the main purposes of setting up RPM, a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act 1965, is to carry out the functions of a licensing body within the interpretation of Section 3 of the Copyright Act 1987, to collectively administer the issuance of licences and distribution of royalties in respect of equitable remuneration rights granted for the commercial use of recorded performances of performers pursuant to Section 16B of the Copyright Act 1987 and any relevant amendments of this Act in future.

Until March 2013, there are already more than 250 recording artistes and musicians that have authorised RPM in writing, which include the dearest and most respected names in the local music industry such as Amy Search, Zainal Abidin, KRU, Fish Leong, Nicholas Teo, Abin, FuYing & Sam, ManHand, DayDream, Will Ng, Sasi The Don, Mista G, Atilia Harun, Dayang Nurfaizah, Azlan & The Typewriter, ITO – Blues Gang, Steve Thornton and Aubrey Suwito amongst many others. Dato’ Hajjah Sheila Majid, the RPM Chairperson, thanked the Minister of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives & Consumerism and the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) for their support and recognition of the role these bodies are playing. In the RPM Chairperson’s appreciation notes to all RPM members, she said, “Thank you so much for the confidence and trust given to me in spearheading RPM. With the support given by all of you in the music industry, RPM will be a new beginning for all of us with democratic representation, transparency and systematic operations in line with the world best practice standard. We, as performers should decide and represent ourselves in the betterment of our own future. Let’s be united and move forward together in support of each other. Our slogan is “PERFORMERS FOR PERFORMERS”.

-Recording Performers Berhad (RPM)