Korean Music Performers Association Enters Mutual Management Agreement with U.S.-based SoundExchange to Expand K-POP’s Global Revenue Streams

The Korean Music Performers Association announced on February 5 that it had signed a mutual management agreement with SoundExchange, an American organization responsible for managing performance rights. This deal is viewed as a significant step toward strengthening the protection of rights for Korean music performers in global music markets. Since the appointment of Lee Jeonghyeon as president and Seungmin as executive director in 2024, the association has actively pursued contracts with international organizations. Given that the United States holds the largest share of the global music market, securing an agreement there was considered a top priority, and the deal was finalized by the end of 2024. This agreement is a multilateral performers’ mutual management pact involving the Korean Music Performers Association, along with SoundExchange, AFM, SAG-AFTRA, and Fund—a total of five organizations. Its main provisions focus on compensating Korean and American music performers for their rights, with both parties agreeing to exchange rights related to various forms of performer compensation, including broadcasting, live performances, and digital audio transmissions. As K-POP gains increasing popularity worldwide, there is optimism that rising usage of K-POP in the United States will lead to higher collection amounts. Through this agreement, the association has now established contracts with performance rights management organizations in major countries around the world, including the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. This development is expected to boost distribution for foreign music performers and significantly reduce undistributed funds overseas. Lee Jeonghyeon, president of the association, stated, “With K-POP achieving global success, this agreement will serve as a turning point in firmly protecting the rights of numerous music performers active both domestically and internationally.” Seungmin, the executive director, explained, “By offering a competitive management fee rate of 5%, compared to 15–20% charged by other global distributors, we expect this to encourage more music performers who are not currently members to join the association.” The Korean Music Performers Association was established in 1988 as South Korea’s only organization dedicated to managing copyright rights for music performers. Approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, it oversees the rights of approximately 47,000 performers working in popular music, traditional Korean music, and classical music genres. SoundExchange is the only performance rights management organization designated by the U.S. government in 2003. It manages the rights of over 670,000 creators, and as of 2023, it distributed approximately $1.05 billion—equivalent to around 1.46 trillion won—in compensation funds.