The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister HWANG Hee, MCST) held the Practical Training Workshop for Managers of Creative Start-Up Companies in the Music Industry on January 25 with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Korean Copyright Commission (KCC). Approximately forty participants from eight Asian countries, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal joined this Workshop to gain insights and share their ideas.

  The Workshop is a part of the MCST-WIPO Trust-In-Fund project. It was held to share the importance of copyright management and practical business cases with creative music producers and start-up companies.

  WIPO introduced its new initiatives to support creative start-up companies and SMEs. MCST gave a presentation about how the copyright system can foster the music industry with the experiences of the Republic of Korea. KCC explained how it provides a One-Stop service to support music start-up companies.

  The Workshop also had two speakers from Korean private music companies. One of them was Mr. Bernie Soo Kwang CHO, President of DFSB Kollective. He shared his insightful perspectives on the several factors of the global success of K-pop. The president also emphasized the Korean government’s protection activities for copyright, especially shut down measures to prevent illegal music downloads. The other speaker was Ms. Seunghui CHO who runs a platform for Korean traditional music. She talked about how her company makes an effort to make Korean traditional music more popular and blend it into people’s daily lives as well as marketing strategies. Both presentations drew a great deal of attention from the participants.

  Lastly, Mr. Scott MORRIS from APRA-AMCOS provided the outline for tools and mechanisms for adding value to music by presenting other countries’ cases. He highlighted the importance of the role of copyright in the music industry.

  In closing, Director GAO Hang from the Copyright Development Division of WIPO said that the success of K-pop is a testament to the importance of copyright in the music field, and the Republic of Korea is a great role model for many Asian countries that aspire to the success of their music industries. She also did not forget to mention the WIPO’s intention to seek further collaboration with the Republic of Korea.

  MCST also mentioned how important it is to manage and protect the copyright as the digital transition is accelerating and hoped that the Workshop had been the wonderful opportunity for the music creators in Asian countries to raise awareness of the copyright.