At a National Copyright Administration (NCA) symposium on KTV copyright fees club and copyright owners expressed different views.

A month ago the NCA published a draft standard of 12 yuan per KTV room per day stipulating that club owners should pay the copyright fee once a year. On August 21 the NCA released the fee proposal to gauge public opinion.

At the symposium China's famous composer Gu Jianfen, representing copyright owners, said collecting copyright fees from KTV clubs was a way of showing respect for a musicians' work and would help boost their creativity and enthusiasm.

Some copyright owners of songs and music videos said the draft financial standard was still too low but they were prepared to accept it as in the past they'd received little or no payment.

A KTV club owner from Henan Province suggested that the copyright fee be tied to the frequency with which songs were chosen. The clubs could pay more copyright fees for songs which were frequently selected by customers.

He also said decision-makers should consider regional wealth levels when setting the fee. He felt that a unified national KTV copyright fee would be unreasonable. The fee should vary according to the level of local economic development.

Some KTV bosses said the fee was too high and 1 yuan per room per day was more appropriate. The NCA has not yet finalized the fee question.

(China Daily September 25, 2006)