For many years, Western music has heavily ruled in Philippine charts and billboards. But with greater access to Philippine music through various digital platforms, the local music industry is striking the chords of more listeners towards the heart and harmony of songs from the homeland. 

In the 2022 Spotify Wrapped report, although international artists like Taylor Swift, BTS and Justin Bieber dominated the charts, local artists such as Zack Tabudlo, Ben&Ben, Arthur Nery, Moira dela Torre and Adie are also gaining ground, hinting at the greater appreciation of Philippine music which has been evolving over the years through a fusion with Western influences and, recently, Asian music genres. 

To help the local music industry keep its momentum and rhythm, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, in collaboration with the Korea Copyright Protection Agency, or KCOPA, will be holding this 15 November the 2023 Philippines-Korea Copyright Forum, or PH-KR Copyright Forum, with a focus on music and copyright.

We are honored to have officials from the Korea Copyright Protection Agency and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to be part of this event. We are also grateful to gather various experts on-board who will highlight the current developments, trends, challenges and best practices in the music industry.

Among these experts are the Copyright Deliberation & Authentication Team of the Korea Copyright Commission who will provide an analysis of the changes and issues in the music industry while the Philippine Association of the Record Industry will be highlighting the technologies that had made the Philippine music industry over the years.

Another much-needed focus in the forum is the role of Collective Management Organizations, or CMOs, in enabling the growth of the creative economy, including the music industry.

Many might find the field of copyright and related rights as a pool of legal intricacies, nuances and jargons. This could make independent artists feel at a loss as to how to start enforcing their intellectual property rights, especially online where infringing uses may abound undetected if you're doing it all alone as an independent artist. But they don't have to be alone.

CMOs offer a cost-effective track for copyright holders to collect license and user fees and get their ducks in a row when filing for an infringement lawsuit.

In the 2022 Spotify Wrapped report, although international artists like Taylor Swift, BTS and Justin Bieber dominated the charts, local artists such as Zack Tabudlo, Ben&Ben, Arthur Nery, Moira Dela Torre and Adie are also gaining ground.

For this important session, FILSCAP and the Performers' Rights Society of the Philippines, or PRSP, will be sharing with the audience their ongoing work with the local industry and their relationships with foreign CMOs.

The audience will also have a deep dive into the growth and cooperation measures of CMOs in Korea, to be presented by the Korea Music Copyright Association and Federation of Korean Music Performers.

Another objective of the annual PH-KR Copyright Forum is to foster the collaborative  relationship between the Philippines and the Republic of Korea in driving the growth and progress of the creative industries in both countries.

Such relationships are crucial in our endeavor to enforce IP rights across the growing network of the creative economy which contributed 7.3 percent or P1.6 trillion to the Philippine GDP in 2022.

Even as IPOPHL works around the clock to drive the growth of the copyright-based industry, we cannot succeed without the support of partners like KCOPA and the many offices and associations supporting this event, who share our vision of seeing the Philippine copyright and music industry grow and find its rhythm in the global stage.