Law Minister: Rapid Digitalisation Not Matched by Accurate Royalty Distribution
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas believes that the rapid pace of digitalisation has not been fully matched by an accurate royalty distribution system for creators.
In opening the ASEAN Collecting Management Organizations (CMO) Forum 2026 in Bali on Friday, he revealed that the swift development of digital platforms has fundamentally transformed the music industry landscape.
“The high volume of consumption does not always correspond to accurate royalty distribution,” Supratman stated, as confirmed in Jakarta.
He explained that the challenges of digital royalty governance are cross-border in nature and cannot be resolved by a single country alone. Therefore, collective regional steps are needed to address these issues.
In response to these dynamics, Indonesia is taking the initiative to promote the drafting of the strategic document Elements for a Possible International Instrument on the Governance of Copyright Royalty in the Digital Environment.
He described this initiative as aiming to build a more transparent and equitable global royalty system. The effort is also directed at protecting creators from black box royalty practices.
Black box royalty refers to an opaque system of collecting and distributing royalties, where complete data on plays, revenues, and copyright allocations is not openly accessible.
“Our goal is to ensure this global system becomes fairer, to protect our creators from black box royalties, and to guarantee that every rights holder receives fair remuneration,” he explained.
The Director General of Intellectual Property at the Ministry of Law, Hermansyah Siregar, added that disparities in technological infrastructure and fragmentation of copyright metadata are the main challenges in digital royalty governance.
“These conditions also trigger revenue leakages that impact the economic rights of creators in the region,” Hermansyah said.
The forum was attended by representatives from CMOs across all ASEAN countries, including Indonesia’s Collective Management Institution (LMK), as well as the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC).
The presence of these global stakeholders is expected to strengthen cross-country collaboration and enrich the exchange of best practices.
As a sustainability measure, Hermansyah stated that Indonesia is pushing for the forum to be held annually with a rotating leadership mechanism.
“This effort is expected to strengthen regional solidarity while ensuring the continuity of digital royalty governance reforms,” he said.
Through the CMO forum, Indonesia is affirming its role as a driver in building a fairer, more transparent, and sustainable digital royalty system.
This step is hoped to improve the welfare of creators in the ASEAN region while strengthening the region’s position globally.