Copyright debate expands: Public transport and wedding venues are now on the agenda

In recent weeks, MESAM ignited a debate by stating that royalties must be paid for music played in barbershops and hair salons and that they would resort to legal action to enforce this. While the parties involved were debating among themselves, MESAM President Recep Ergül announced that they are now preparing to demand royalties from public transport vehicles and wedding venues as well.

WEDDING VENUES PAY NO ROYALTIES AT ALL

According to a report by Habertürk, Ergül explained that Turkey was one of the last 6 countries in the world in terms of royalty collection according to CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) data, but has risen to 39th place through ongoing efforts. He described the current problems as follows:

"Public transport vehicles still pay no royalties at all. We have launched a major campaign regarding this. Two; wedding venues pay no royalties at all. This is because there are two conflicting court rulings. One ruling in Ankara was in favor of a wedding venue. A valid decision was issued by a Court of Cassation chamber. The chamber stated; 'Wedding venues are public spaces, business is conducted here, and naturally, they must pay royalties.' However, a year later, the same court issued a diametrically opposite decision regarding a file concerning a wedding venue in Bayrampaşa; 'No, what does that have to do with it? Friends and family gathered and held a wedding. No royalty obligation arises from this.' A single decision by the same court can set all our progress back 30 years.

We are about to reach an agreement with gas stations. Beauty centers and hair salons are already a subject of debate these days. Turkish music repertoire is used in countries like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, but we cannot collect a single cent. Because they have laws and regulations, but no inspection mechanism. That is why they do not collect royalties. This is the fundamental problem."

THE AMOUNT REQUESTED FROM BARBERS IS 16 LIRA PER DAY

Stating that it is a major problem that none of the intercity buses pay royalties despite all of them having entertainment and music panels, Ergül made the following remarks:

"There is a provision in the law, and it is very clear. When music is used in commercial establishments rather than for personal use, there is a copyright according to Law No. 5846. Let's say there is no such law, but this is a matter of moral right. They say, 'I listen to the songs on the radio.' It does not matter where you listen to it; music can be played on the radio in a public transport vehicle as well, but no professional association tells a radio station, 'Take this and use it unlimitedly.' We grant that radio station a license to broadcast that music. Regardless of the device used; public transport vehicles, public spaces, and barbershops are included in these, a royalty obligation arises from them.

Hair salons first created a perception like this; 6 thousand lira per year per square meter. We calculated it, are we buying the barbershop? There is no such thing. It corresponds to 16 lira per day, a maximum of 6 thousand lira per year. Usually, a square meter calculation is made. There is a larger operation here, 12 people work and earn more, and the square footage is this much, but on the other hand, there is a barber in a neighborhood with a single chair where one person works; we would not ask from him anyway. What would you take from him? Let him play as much music as he wants. To those who say as a justification, 'We do not make money from music,' we are not claiming that you do. Restaurants and public transport vehicles do not make money from music either. Can there be such a perspective?"