GMA Network signs milestone contract recognizing local performers’ rights

GMA Network has signed a contract with Performers Rights Society of the Philippines (PRSP), Music and Video Performance, Inc. (MVP), Philippine Music Public Performance Society, Inc. (PMPPSI), and Viva/Vicor on the use of the original sound recordings of the songs of local musicians and composers for teleseryes.  

The contract was signed by Viva/Vicor President and COO Tony Ocampo, MVP President Chito Ilacad, PRSP Chairman Leo Martinez, and GMA Network's Senior Vice President for Finance and Information Communication Technology department Ronaldo P. Mastrili.

Ocampo was also signing for PMPPSI.

“We're very glad that GMA Network has recognized the Performers' Rights as embodied in the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines and its amendments,” said John Lesaca, corporate secretary of the Performers Rights Society of the Philippines. “Among one of which featured the establishment and accreditation of the Performers' Collective Management Organization (CMO).”

“The PRSP considers this a milestone not only locally—because it helps provide a level playing field for performers' rights—but in the international community [as well]. All the other countries have their own Collective Management Organizations already.”

However, the Philippines was the first in Asia to establish a CMO. The catch was that this endeavor took several years, thanks in part to a lack of awareness of the law and “getting our acts together,” as Lesaca put it.

“Since there is a high level of awareness now, performers' rights are indeed very much recognized, and we are very, very happy now that the creative industry has been given a chance to flourish once more,” he concluded.

“By virtue of this agreement, the network can now use all the original sound recordings of these artists and publishers because it is already covered by a blanket agreement,” said Mastrili.

“From day one, the network was one with the performers and publishers to recognize the importance of the artists in the industry. So napakadali na pirmahan itong agreement na ito,” he added. 

When asked how permission was asked for and granted before then, Ocampo had this to say: “Masalimuot noong time na 'yun dahil kung gusto kong gamitin yung bawat kanta nila, you have to negotiate isa-isa, individually.”

The agreement is retroactive from 2008, when demands were laid for licenses. It is considered a win-win arrangement, for there is now a body that the network can consult with regard to permission. Meanwhile, artists need not approach the network individually—the network can even promote the artists and his or her works, as well.

The percentage that goes to the artist is dependent on his or her contract, according to Ocampo.

He explained that how the network pays for one song or a whole collection varies, as there are many rights to acknowledge—and each one has a different payment approach to it. Teleseryes have a one-time payment scheme, while the payments for recordings depend on the number of records sold. —ELR/KG, GMA News