Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers facts for kids
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| licensing and royalties | |
| Founded | 1939 |
| Headquarters | 3-6-12 Uehara, , |
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Key people
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Haku Ide (Chairman) |
The Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, usually called JASRAC, is a special group in Japan. It helps manage copyright for music. JASRAC was started in 1939 as a group that doesn't aim to make a profit. It is now the biggest organization in Japan that handles music copyrights.
Contents
What JASRAC Does
JASRAC's main job is to look after the copyrights for songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers. Think of it like a manager for their music. This includes rights for recording songs and playing them in public.
JASRAC makes sure that people who use music, like radio stations or concert halls, get the right licenses. They collect money from these licenses. Then, they give this money to the artists and publishers who own the music.
JASRAC also checks for copyright infringements. This means they look for times when music is used without permission. If someone uses music unfairly, JASRAC can take legal action.
The main office for JASRAC is in Shibuya, Tokyo. It has 22 other offices in big cities across Japan. JASRAC is the oldest music copyright company in Japan. It started in 1939.
JASRAC's Story
How It All Started
In 1899, Japan joined the Berne Convention. This was an international agreement about copyright law. But, there wasn't a clear way to pay artists when their recorded songs were played live.
In 1931, a German teacher named Wilhelm Plage started a group called "Plage Institution" in Tokyo. He wanted to manage music copyrights in Japan. His group started asking businesses like radio stations for money to use music.
Plage's requests for money were not always clear. This made it hard for Japanese music to be used outside Japan. Even NHK, a big broadcasting company, had trouble playing foreign music. Plage also tried to get Japanese artists to let his group manage their copyrights.
These events caused a lot of problems and were called the "Plage Whirlwind." This situation showed that Japan needed a proper way to manage music copyrights.
The Copyright Brokerage Act
To fix the problems, a new law was made in 1939. This law said that only groups with permission from the government could manage copyrights. Because of this law, JASRAC's first version, called the Great Japanese Music Copyright Association, was created in 1940.
Wilhelm Plage was no longer allowed to manage copyrights. He even had to pay a fine and left Japan in 1941. The new law made it so that the Great Japanese Music Copyright Association was the main group for managing music copyrights in Japan.
Protecting Music Online
In 2006, JASRAC took action to protect music on video-sharing websites. They asked YouTube to remove nearly 30,000 videos. These videos used songs or clips that belonged to big music companies without permission. Some of these companies included Sony Music, Avex, and Universal Music.
JASRAC Awards
The JASRAC Awards started in 1982. These awards celebrate the lyricists, composers, and music publishers who earn the most money from their music. This money comes from things like music sales, karaoke, and songs used in commercials.
There are different awards:
- Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards: Given to the top three Japanese songs that earned the most money.
- International Award: Given to the Japanese song that earned the most money from other countries.
- Foreign Work Award: Given to the non-Japanese song that earned the most money in Japan.
In 2003, the music from the movie Spirited Away won the Gold Award. This was the first time an instrumental song won this award. In 2012, the song "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana" by SMAP was honored. It had earned the most money in the awards' 30-year history.
Some songs have won the Gold Award two years in a row:
- "Inochi Kurenai" by Eiko Segawa (1988 and 1989)
- "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana" by SMAP (2004 and 2005)
- "Heavy Rotation" by AKB48 (2012 and 2013)
- "Gurenge" by LiSA (2021 and 2022)
See also
In Spanish: Sociedad Japonesa de Derechos de Autores, Compositores y Editores para niños
