HPCF to form collective management organization for Hakka music community

To help establish a Hakka copyright collective management organization and build a favorable environment for the Hakka music community, the Hakka Public Communication Foundation (HPCF) held a conference on Hakka music copyright on May 24, inviting Hakka musicians, copyright collective management organizations, and record companies to discuss the issues of intellectual property, licensing, and piracy.

HPCF held a conference on Hakka music copyright

HPCF held a conference on Hakka music copyright

(Photo credit: HPCF/范修語)

The attendees include senior inspector Liu Hui-ping (劉慧萍) of the Hakka Affairs Council’s (HAC) Department of Art, Culture and Communication, HPCF President Chen Bang-jen (陳邦畛), lawyer Yeh Chih-hsin (葉奇鑫) of DaVinci Personal Data and High-Tech Law Firm, and a group of Hakka singers as well as representatives from Taiwan Music Collective Management Association and Taiwan Hakka Performing Arts and Culture Association.

HAC’s Liu said the government has offered the Hakka music community several sets of measures and rules to protect the interests of artists. From “Regulations Governing Copyright Protection of Cultural and Art Workers and Enterprises,” which was issued by the Ministry of Culture last October, and other government measures, Liu said, Hakka music creators might have a better understanding of their own rights and learn more about penalties for copyright infringement.

Liu said the Department of Art, Culture and Communication, which was established in 2021, aims to deal with affairs related to Hakka literature and music as well as mainstream Hakka culture. During the COVID-19 pandemic, HAC subsidized Hakka singers to shoot their music videos in the hope to help increase their media exposure.

In the conference, Hakka music associations/companies suggested the government should pay more attention to the plight of these organizations instead of just giving direct subsidies to Hakka music creators, while Hakka singers pointed out some thorny problems about music royalties and pirated records.

In the future, HPCF will form a Hakka collective management organization to get the maximum benefit for Hakka music creators, but how to move in the right direction requires great efforts from all quarters.

Having observed Hakka-related affairs for many years, lawyer Yeh found there are many legal issues in Hakka music such as intellectual property rights and musicians’ interests. He hopes that, through this conference, opinions gathered from different fields will facilitate the formation of a Hakka collective management organization.