By Jung Min-ho
Music lovers will be paying more for the songs they hear on their smartphones as officials are putting an end to unlimited music streaming based on a fixed-rate payment.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism confirmed Tuesday it plans to change the current fixed-rate music streaming system to pay-per-stream on May 1 as part of Park Geun-hye government’s plan to protect the rights and interests of musicians and songwriters.
This came following constant requests from music copyright holders to change the fixed charge - 1,800 won ($1.62) for single platform use and 2,400 won for multiples - that limits their share while an increasing music streaming demand only benefits the distributors.
Upon implementation, copyright holders will receive 3.6 won every time consumers listen to their songs through the system.
“We came up with the cost after considering an average market price for a monthly flat-rate music streaming (6,000 won) and an average number of songs that each consumer clicks (1,000 hits),” the ministry said in a press release.
The organization expects the change will bring about more quality products by giving more benefits to songwriters upon demand, also creating competition with one another.
Of course, the distributors’ reaction to the upcoming change is less than welcoming.
The pay-per-stream system will likely shrink the market as it will burden consumers at a critical timing for the K-pop industry after rapper Psy’s global success, said an industry expert, who refused to be named.
He also said the change may encourage pricing that will hurt both the writers and providers.
Nevertheless, a ministry official said the organization did its best to set the lowest price possible, noting that the distributors can still keep the market vibrant and consumers happy by setting different price tags for different content.
“To collect various opinions before the decision, we had a meeting last week with music providers, songwriters and people whose interest will be affected by the transition,” the official said. “We will continue to cooperate to tackle potential issues such as faking the number of hits.”
To cover discussions on other issues such as setting a discount rate for package options and one for music from overseas, the culture ministry and Korea Copyright Commission will create a special committee by the end of the month.