PRISM is Malaysia’s Fourth Collection Society
30 August 2013
PRISM, the Malaysian collecting society known as Performers & Artistes Rights Malaysia, is about to get some competition, say lawyers in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian singer Sheila Majid is about to launch Recording Performers Malaysia (RPM), a performers-forperformers initiative to collect royalty payments following a long period of dissatisfaction with the way PRISM collected and distributed royalties, local media sources report.
PRISM, which has been in existence since 1989 and has been collecting royalties since 2004. Majid only received her first royalty cheque from the society after she started talking about founding a new collecting society, she told The Star newspaper. She said she could not understand how PRISM had arrived at the amount of the check – RM5,000 (US$1,543) – or why it had taken years to receive the cheque for her songs, which have been playing on the radio and in public places for years. The other two licensed copyright societies are Music Authors Copyright Protection (MACP) and Public Performers Malaysia (PPM). MACP collects royalties on behalf of songwriters and composers when their work is broadcast in public. PPM collects royalties on behalf of recording companies.
Both PRISM and RPM collect royalties on behalf of performers (singers), so they compete with each other, says Geetha K, director of the trademarks and designs division at KASS International in Kuala Lumpur. “I believe that Majid’s move is a wise one as now, there will be a check and balance system with regard to the collection of royalty for performers.”
But Geetha K says that four collecting societies are probably enough for Malaysia. “I do not think [more are] necessary considering that the industry is small in Malaysia, unlike the US, UK and South Korea, where the entertainment industry has been well established and has a huge market following,” she says. “As long as the four agencies are transparent with the manner they collect royalties and have statements backing up the royalty figures they award their members, they should be sufficient to cater for the songwriters, composers, performers and recording companies in Malaysia.” PRISM chairman Anuar Dahlan said at a press conference that members can anticipate their first payments by the end of 2014 but that first he needs to determine the rates and tariffs of the public performances.
“That is an achievable goal,” says Geetha K. “Taking into consideration that PRISM was established in 1989 and has been collecting royalties since 2004, they must have some basic rate and tariff that they have been relying on for the past years. Further, consultants who specialize in this area can be engaged to assist PRISM on this project.”
