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About Music License

About Music License

Choose Your Licence

Whether you’re operating a permanent business or organising a one-time event, RPM offers licensing options designed to meet your requirements.

Annual Licence

Ideal for businesses that play recorded music throughout the year.

Required for:

  • Restaurants & cafes
  • Shopping malls
  • Gyms & fitness centres
  • Entertainment venues
  • Corporate spaces
  • Commercial Premises
  • Hotels
Apply Annual License here

Event Licence

Planning a concert, exhibition, festival, corporate function, roadshow, or special event?

Our Event Licence allows you to legally use recorded music during temporary events and public performances.

Required for:

  • Corporate Events
  • Festivals
  • Product Launches
  • Exhibitions
  • Roadshows
  • Community Programmes
Apply Event License here

List of Standard Public Performance Tariffs

Browse our standard public performance tariffs designed to ensure fair licensing for businesses while supporting equitable royalty distribution to recording performers.

RPM Annual Licence

I play music in my business

See Tariff

RPM Event Licence

I play music for event

See Tariff

Reference

Download PDF version of the Standard Public Performance Tariffs document here

Download Pamphlet

Definitions

Featured Music Entertainment

  • Playing of sound, music video and / or karaoke recordings as the main feature of entertainment and includes music for entertainment, product launches, dancing, karaoke singing and entertainment provided by disc jockeys.

Non-Featured Music Entertainment

  • Playing of sound, music video and / or karaoke recordings where it is not the main feature of entertainment e.g. Background piped-in music including Radio / TV broadcasts.

Music Entertainment

  • Playing of sound, music video and / or karaoke recordings in public.

Disclaimer

  • All tariffs are subject to change by RPM’s Board of Directors without prior notice.
  • The categories are only a guide and are not exhaustive.
  • Any other tariffs not listed will be supplied upon request.
  • RPM Board of Directors shall decide the classification of any establishment.

Common Questions About Licensing

Find answers to common questions about music licensing, copyrights, and others.

Top 5 Questions

In RPM, a performer could be a featured performer, a non-featured performer, or both.
A featured performer is a recording artist who is the leading performer in a sound recording released commercially to the public. A recording artist is usually in contract with a record label and can be an individual, a band, or a vocal group.
A non-featured performer is a session musician hired to make a supporting musical contribution by performing in a recording session. Session musicians receive a one-time fee for their service. They can be instrumentalists (guitarists, drummers, saxophonists, etc.) or backup singers.

Under Section 16B of the Malaysian Copyright Act 1987, performers are entitled to “equitable remuneration” or fair payment where the sound recordings they have performed in are played in public or broadcast in Malaysia. The commercial user of the sound recordings has to pay RPM’s performer members via RPM.

We calculate how much royalty a recording is entitled to based on usage reports. The reports detail how long a particular recording has been played in seconds for a specific year. So the longer your song is played, the more royalty you’ll earn.

Yes. The Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO), an agency under the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operative and Consumerism (MDTCC) has officially declared RPM as a licensing body. A Licensing Body certificate was issued to RPM on 1 May 2020.

Performer’s Rights

RPM represents recording performers in collective licensing matters to distribute royalties granted to them for the public performance and broadcast of their performances embodied in sound recordings.

In Malaysia, the copyright owners have formed the following CMO: –
Recording Performers Malaysia Berhad
A company limited by guarantee registered on 18 October 2011 as a not-for-profit collective management organization representing recording performers in collective licensing matters and distribution of royalties granted to performers in respect of the public performance and broadcast of their performances embodied in sound recordings.
www.rpm.my
Music Authors’ Copyright Protection (MACP) Berhad
A company limited by guarantee registered on 7 September 1989 as a not-for-profit collective management organization to administer the public performance and broadcast rights of our members, comprising of songwriters, composers and music publishers, with 4402 members to date.
www.macp.com.my
Public Performance Malaysia (PPM) Berhad
A not-for-profit collective management organization, limited by guarantee, which represents all eligible Malaysian recording companies and International recording companies who have exclusively licenced PPM’s members to control their rights in Malaysia for issuing licences to and collecting royalties from commercial users of sound, music videos and karaoke recordings for the copyright protected.
www.ppm.my

In such an event and based on best practices, all royalties paid should be distributed to eligible right holders before dissolution.

Music Licensing

RPM represents recording performers in collective licensing matters to distribute royalties granted to them for the public performance and broadcast of their performances embodied in sound recordings.

Complete the RPM Music Copyright Licence Application Form or call us at +603-6411 8336. An invoice will be issued to you on receipt of your application. Upon receiving your payment, a Licence or Permit will be forwarded to you.

Yes. The Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO), an agency under the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operative and Consumerism (MDTCC) has officially declared RPM as a licensing body. A Licensing Body certificate was issued to RPM on 1 May 2020 (copy attached).

In such an event and based on best practices, all royalties paid should be distributed to eligible right holders before dissolution.

If businesses publicly play RPM member’s recorded performance without prior permission or licence from RPM, they will risk legal action being taken under the Copyright Act 1987 against them and also risk losing the goodwill of the major music industry bodies.

RPM Licence fees are set out in its public performance tariffs which lists different rates depending on the nature of the business and type of music used.

Others

We’re happy to provide you the answers you need. Just reach out to us at licensing@rpm.my