The Vietnam Center for Protection of Music Copyright (VCPMC) said 371 living artists and the families of late-songwriters had signed the over 50-page application, compiled by the center over the last two months.
The center said there were many more who wanted to sign.
The artists said the royalties of VND10,000 (US$0.60) per song were very low, but many stations, including Radio Voice of Vietnam (VOV) and Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC), ignored the fees, despite many reminders.
Even cable TV stations, which earn large amounts of money from advertisements and viewers, did not pay copyright fees to artists, they said.
The VCPMC said three quarters of local TV stations were currently paying royalties and the center, which collected fees on behalf of copyright holders, got a 25 percent commission.
A songwriter, Pham Tuyen, said intellectual property rights needed to be respected.
“We are not making a big demand. Every song which has been popularized brings happiness to the artist,” he said.
“But our works’ existence has to be recognized - when broadcasters ask permission to use songs theyshould pay royalties so that songwriters can make a living.”
The VCPMC said in case stations which played songs still “forgot” to pay copyright fees, it would ask for relevant agencies’ intervention.
Source: Tuoi Tre, Lao Dong
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