The Malaysian Artistes’ Association (Karyawan) said the government, through the Malaysian Intellectual Property Corporation (MyIPO), had previously introduced guidelines meant to address the collection and distribution of royalties.

These guidelines were “supposed to be benefitting artistes by now”, it said.

Instead, they were being challenged in court by Public Performance Malaysia (PPM), the collection body for RIM, and two other collective management organisations.

“It is difficult to reconcile asking the government for public funds while, at the same time, contesting the government’s measures to protect the very creators those funds are meant to help,” Karyawan said in a statement.

Earlier today, RIM chairman Rosmin Hashim called on the government to establish a dedicated fund under the 2027 budget “to propel local music onto the global stage”.

According to New Straits Times, Rosmin said financial backing was crucial as streaming services influenced the sector.

He also said the rise in digital earnings had directly empowered music creators, record labels and rights owners through increased digital sales and royalty distributions.

Karyawan challenged RIM’s assertion that digital platforms and collective management organisations had brought creators higher incomes, saying it was “not the experience of many of our members”.

It said veteran and working artistes continued to raise concerns about delayed, unclear or unexplained royalty payments, and about limited visibility into how collections were calculated and distributed.

“Let us be clear: this is not a funding problem. It is an accountability problem. No budget allocation can substitute for artistes receiving the royalties that are already rightfully theirs, transparently and on time,” it said.

Karyawan also said it was premature to talk about global expansion if Malaysian music did not have a strong presence in its own home market.

“Countries that have taken their music to the world, such as South Korea, first built strong demand at home,” it said.

It called for the MyIPO guidelines to be enforced for the benefit of artistes and a commitment to play local music in government buildings, GLC outlets and public transport.

“The starting point must be simple: artistes first, and Malaysian music first, at home,” it said.