FILSCAP says only two candidates secured licenses for campaign jingles

MANILA, Philippines — Out of all the candidates running in the 2019 midterm elections, only two secured public performance licenses for the use of copyrighted music as campaign jingles, the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Inc. (FILSCAP) said.

FILSCAP General Counsel Michael Hernandez revealed on Tuesday that only former presidential aide and senatorial aspirant Bong Go and Pasay City mayoralty candidate Jon Wilfredo Trinidad obtained the necessary license to play the music in sorties.

Hernandez said there were three types of licenses that politicians using copyrighted music should secure.

“Generally, there are three copyright licenses that must be secured by political candidates who intend to use copyrighted music: one, a modification or adaptation license if the lyrics of a copyrighted song will be changed or modified to make a campaign jingle,” he explained in a statement.

“Two, a reproduction license if a copyrighted song will be recorded or copied (whether the lyrics are revised or not), and the third, a public performance license if a copyrighted song will be played to the public as campaign jingle, or as entertainment or background music during a campaign rally or event,” he added.

FILSCAP is the collective management organization accredited by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPO-PHL) to license the public playing of copyrighted music.

During the campaign season, most of the candidates use catchy tunes — sometimes from existing copyrighted songs — to sway voters.  Candidates usually alter the lyrics of the song to suit their platform and messaging.

“While very many political candidates are now aware that they need to secure a license if they change the lyrics of a song to make campaign jingle, most of the political candidates are still not aware that a license must also be secured if copyrighted music will be played as background or entertainment music,” FILSCAP said. 

The body also said that while entertainers at a political event are getting paid for their performance while using copyrighted songs, the original composers and creators of the song are not being compensated.

Recently, Sandwich band frontman Raymund Marasigan called out politicians who are using an “unauthorized bastardized version” of pop music for their campaign, saying they are “stealing” even before being elected into office.

READ: Raymund Marasigan slams politicians using unauthorized pop songs as campaign jingles

whenever you hear an unauthorized bastardized version of a popular song as an election jingle, pls don’t vote that candidate.

dipa naelect nagnakaw na😎

— Rayray Marasigan (@raymsmercygun) April 3, 2019

here’s a few ways you can find out.
you can ask the artist their management or the label.
maybe even filscap.😀 https://t.co/EsAG9nFzBC

— Rayray Marasigan (@raymsmercygun) April 3, 2019

IPO-PHL and FILSCAP have asked candidates to respect the intellectual property rights of the artists, warning that they may be civilly and criminally liable for copyright infringement, in accordance with the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.

Before the 2016 Presidential Elections, FILSCAP reached out to the  Commission on Elections (Comelec) on how to protect artists regarding the said issue.

READ: Pay for jingles, bets told

FILSCAP warned that they will continue to monitor the illegal use of music, saying that they have already notified some candidates and the corresponding composers and artists about it.

“The public may help local and foreign music creators monitor the unauthorized or unlicensed use of their works by sending videos of the music usage by political candidates to the email [email protected].,” FILSCAP said. /cbb, je