‘Respect local artists’: SB19 song triggers discussion on music royalties

SB19 members (from left) Justin, Stell, Pablo, Ken, Josh. Image: Sony Music Philippines

“Respect local artists” became a trending topic on Twitter as fans of P-pop boy group SB19 defend the “Bazinga” hitmaker after some  “It’s Showtime” hosts claimed that the group has begun demanding payment for playing their music.

During the June 10 program of “It’s Showtime,” a contestant on the “Isip Bata” segment requested to dance to SB19’s “Gento,” which he was supposed to perform with host Jhong Hilario.

While the pair waited for the music to play, the contestant and the host were told—presumably by a staff member—that they could not play the song. Vice Ganda commented in a rather jocular manner, “Naningil na sila, naningil na.” (They’re now asking for a fee.)

Curtis, who seemed surprised by the staff’s instruction, asked, “Talaga? Hindi ba good promo ‘yun [playing the song on the show] for the music industry?” (Really? Isn’t playing the song on the show a good promo for the music industry?)

The actress continued, “May gano’n [fee for playing a song on the show] na pala? Sayang.” (So there’s such a thing already? It’s a pity.)

Moments after the episode, the hashtag “respect local artists” trended on Twitter in defense of SB19, with singer Sam Concepcion also commenting that artists deserved to be paid their dues.

Pay artists their royalties

— Sam Concepcion (@sam_concepcion) June 11, 2023

SonoSuite, a platform for record labels and music distributors, defined music royalty as “payment made to rights holders, including songwriters, recording artists, and intermediaries like labels, publishers, or producers for the licensed use of their work,” which is generated depending on the type of usage and licensing.

Thyro Alfaro, one of the winners of the 2020 Awit Awards, also registered his surprise that some people are unaware that they are supposed to pay for using artists’ music.

Screenshot from Thyro Alfaro’s Facebook post

In October 2018, the team composed of Josh, Pablo, Stell, Ken, and Justin introduced themselves to the music scene with their debut single titled “Tilaluha.” They have since gained significant popularity with several chart-topping tracks, including “Where You At (WYAT),” “Mapa,” “Go Up,” “What?,” and “Bazinga,” among numerous others.

The group just recently released their latest album “Pagtatag” which revolves around “strengthening their foundation” as a group.” EDV

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