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SCMP’s Asia desk

Indonesia is demanding that Netflix pay an estimated 75 billion rupiah (US$4.3 million) in royalties accumulated since its launch in the country or risk being shut down.
The National Collective Management Organisation (LMKN), a government-supported agency overseeing the country’s royalty system, said the streaming platform had not paid music royalties since entering the Indonesian market 10 years ago, the Jakarta Globe reported.
“The amount is estimated at around 75 billion rupiah, which Netflix must settle for the period since it opened access to its commercial digital service in Indonesia in 2016,” LMKN secretary general Bigi Ramadha Putra said in a statement on Wednesday.
Netflix is required to pay royalties under Indonesia’s 2014 copyright law, a 2021 government regulation on the management of song and music copyright royalties, and a 2025 regulation by the Law Ministry, according to Bigi.
“Netflix, as a digital platform conducting commercial activities in Indonesia, is required to respect copyright regulations and fulfil its obligations to rights holders,” he said.
Should the platform continue to drag its feet, LMKN plans to take the matter to the Law Ministry and the Communications and Digital Affairs Ministry.
“If an obligation has been established but remains unfilled, then we must pursue the legal mechanisms available to us,” Bigi said. “If the regulations are not complied with, we will propose that access to Netflix in Indonesia be shut down.”

LMKN representatives have already met Netflix informally in London over the issue, according to Bigi.
Based on information received by LMKN, Netflix had paid royalties to the Philippines and Thailand amounting to hundreds of billions of rupiah, he added.
That claim could not be verified but what has been reported is an agreement by Netflix to pay five years’ worth of music royalties it owed to South Korea.
Under the licensing contract signed with the Korea Music Copyright Association, the streaming platform agreed to pay for songs used in shows and films from 2021 to 2025, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported on August 27. An earlier deal signed in 2018 covered usage from 2016 to 2020.
Music royalty rates for streaming platforms in South Korea, set in December 2020, started at 1.5 per cent of sales and rose to 1.9 per cent this year.
Netflix also faces new demands on its income from Australia. On Friday, the Australian Taxation Office ruled that income earned from cloud or streaming services would become taxable for the first time, the Financial Review reported. As there was a copyright or intellectual property element included in the service fees, they should be taxable as a royalty payment, the office said.


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Netflix has agreed to pay music royalties it owed in South Korea and faces a tax demand on its income in Australia, media reports say


Netflix has agreed to pay music royalties it owed in South Korea and faces a tax demand on its income in Australia, media reports say.


Indonesia orders Netflix to pay US$4.3m in music royalties or face shutdown

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Netflix has agreed to pay music royalties it owed in South Korea and faces a tax demand on its income in Australia, media reports say

Netflix has agreed to pay music royalties it owed in South Korea and faces a tax demand on its income in Australia, media reports say