"We Will Launch Private Sector Campaigns"
The Small Business Association called on political leaders to pay attention so that the 'Small Business Music Copyright Performance Fee Support Program' would be included in the supplementary budget bill.
On July 3, the association issued a statement saying, "We hope the music copyright performance fee support program will proceed as planned."
This program provides support for music copyright performance fees for six months this year to small business owners in nine sectors, including fitness centers, coffee shops, and karaoke rooms. For this year, 5 billion won has been allocated, and it is reported that the program is currently under review in the supplementary budget bill.
SBA Logo. Small Business Association
The association stated, "In January this year, the Supreme Court ruled that even if a store receives music from a background music service provider and uses it in the store, it must pay copyright fees." The association added, "This overturned the previous court ruling," and explained, "Because in-store music is not considered a commercial music album, it is subject to copyright fees."
Furthermore, the association said, "As a result, small business owners with stores larger than 50 square meters are now required to pay music copyright performance fees," and added, "This has placed yet another burden on small businesses already facing an unprecedented crisis."
The association also expressed concern, saying, "The problem is that most small business owners are unaware of this, so they will inevitably become targets for collection," and added, "This situation is bound to cause chaos on the ground."
Finally, the association stated, "We deeply sympathize with the purpose of this support program," and added, "We will support it through private sector campaigns and other efforts to ensure that the original goal of reducing the burden on small business owners is achieved."
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