The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA, President Chu Ga-yeol) said it maintained its global position by ranking 11th in worldwide music royalty collections in 2024, but fell two places from the previous year.
According to CISAC's recently released Global Collections Report 2025, Korea collected about 276 million euros (Hanwha about 46.53 billion won), growing 2.0%, and KOMCA collected about 436.5 billion won, accounting for about 94% of the country's total music royalties.
The issue of unpaid transmission fees by OTT platforms and broadcasters was analyzed as a major cause of Korea's drop in music royalty rankings. KOMCA estimated that unpaid royalties amounted to about 150 billion won, and said resolving this could allow Korea to rank first in the Asia-Pacific and enter the global top 10.
KOMCA analyzed that despite K-pop's achievements and popularity showing global influence in digital areas such as OTT, social media and streaming, those achievements have failed to translate into copyright collections for years because of a "digital settlement gap." Digital revenue, including OTT and on-demand streaming services, increased 12.2% in 2024, but unpaid royalties by OTT platforms and broadcasters hindered a rise in global ranking.
The CISAC report also addressed copyright protection issues arising from the spread of AI technology as a key agenda. Unregulated generative AI could erode up to 25% of creators' revenue (about 8.5 billion euros, Hanwha about 14 trillion won), and the AI content market is expected to surge from 3 billion euros to 64 billion euros (Hanwha about 107 trillion won) by 2028. CISAC emphasized in the report that securing transparency of AI platforms and establishing fair compensation systems for creators are urgent.
To respond to the AI era, KOMCA will operate an "AI response task force" from 2025 and is pursuing registration guidelines for AI-used music, building compensation systems for training data, and proposing legal and institutional improvements. It is also participating in international discussions in cooperation with CISAC and presenting opinions to protect creators during AI-related legislative processes.
Baek Seung-yeol, head of the business division, said, "AI technology is rapidly encroaching on creative fields, but the system is still woefully inadequate to protect creators," and added, "Only when the legitimate use of creative works in AI training and fair compensation for that use are ensured will a virtuous cycle be created in which technological advancement and artistic creation coexist."
Baek, the head of the business division, added, "KOMCA will do its best to propose institutional improvements and policies so that such a fair system can take root through cooperation with the international community, including CISAC."
[Photo] Provided by KOMCA
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