KOMCA Withholds 24 Billion Won in Royalties Amid 'YouTube Abuse' Allegations

Issue raised at National Assembly audit... 4 rights holders, 802 works

The Korea Music Copyright Association. Photo provided by KOMCA.

The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) said on Oct. 22 that it is withholding approximately 24 billion won in royalties requested by four rights holders and conducting additional verification over allegations that the use of certain songs on YouTube was artificially boosted, distorting the distribution of royalties.

Rep. Jin Sunmi of the Democratic Party of Korea raised concerns about the fairness of the distribution system during a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on Oct. 12. She criticized a monetization scheme that allegedly encouraged the use of certain songs to generate large sums in royalties.

According to KOMCA, a total of 802 works are involved in the case. Including amounts already distributed, the royalties at issue are estimated to exceed 30 billion won.

The key question is whether the reported use of the songs resulted from normal music consumption or was artificially inflated to increase revenue. Some monetization platforms for Shorts audio operated by sharing a portion of the revenue generated when video creators used certain music. KOMCA raised the possibility that, in this process, creators used music unrelated to the video content or inserted tracks so quietly that they were effectively inaudible, while still generating royalties.

YouTube royalties are distributed according to usage data for each work, based on fees paid by the platform. KOMCA believes that if the usage of certain songs is artificially inflated, increasing their share of the distribution, the amount allocated to other creators could decrease. However, it says further verification is needed to determine whether the usage data was actually inflated.

Image for illustrative purposes. Provided by Rep. Jin Sun-mi's office.

On June 30, police decided not to refer the case for prosecution, citing insufficient evidence. KOMCA requested a review of the investigation. After the police decision, the association considered whether to lift the hold on royalty payments, but its board decided at a meeting on Sept. 29 that the facts needed further verification and voted to maintain the hold.

KOMCA is also verifying whether the music was generated by artificial intelligence (AI). After submitting 791 related tracks it had obtained to an overseas AI music analysis company, the association found indications that some of the tracks may have been AI-generated.

KOMCA is currently examining the operating methods and contractual relationships of the monetization platforms for the Shorts audio in question, and is also sharing information with overseas copyright organizations.

A KOMCA official said, “Royalties that are legitimately owed should of course be paid. However, paying out a large sum without sufficient verification when serious questions have been raised about the fairness of the distribution is also an issue that requires caution. We need to determine not only whether some rights holders’ payment requests are justified, but also whether other creators’ rightful shares have been infringed.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.