Karaoke bars in China will be charged for using music videos from January 1, 2007, the China Audio and Video Association (CAVA) announced on Sunday despite some Karaoke bar owners' opposition.

Wang Huapeng, an official with the China Audio-Video Management Collective (CAVMC) said a dozen heads of its provincial branch offices attend an internal meeting held by the CAVA Friday, agreeing the royalties collection will start from January 1, 2007.

The royalties collection will be directly implemented in well-off cities. For those in less developed regions, local offices of the CAVA will conduct investigation and set "reasonable payment rates," Wang said.

The ceiling rate for each private room in Karaoke bars was set at 12 yuan (US$1.5) per day by the National Copyright Administration on November 9.

Ten billion yuan (US$1.25 billion) in revenues racked up by the 100,000 karaoke bars in China each year should theoretically generate 8 million yuan (US$1 million) in royalties for copyright holders.

(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2006)