IPOPHL to create toolkit promoting musicians’ IP rights

THE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) is looking to develop a toolkit on copyright principles to help Filipino musicians protect their intellectual property (IP) rights.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the agency said it recently held consultations for the creation of its Toolkit for Filipino Musicians on Managing Copyright.

The toolkit will serve as a resource material on fundamental copyright principles on IP management.

During the consultations, participants noted that Filipino musicians have gaps in their knowledge on ownership and rights to their creative work.

IPOPHL said that many musicians make records without fully understanding their contracts with production companies. It noted how artists lack awareness on how songs earn income or how their rights are protected.

“Participants also raised how the knowledge gap extends even to established musicians, particularly in administration, royalty collections and the role of collective management organizations,” it said in the statement.

With this, the toolkit is expected to help cultivate a more enabling and future-ready IP ecosystem for the Philippine music industry, IPOPHL Acting Director General Nathaniel S. Arevalo was quoted as saying.

“By grounding policy support in the real experiences of our creators, we ensure that our interventions are responsive, inclusive, and aligned with how the industry actually works,” he noted.

The toolkit would help support the boom of the Philippine music industry in the age of streaming and digitalization, IPOPHL said.

The number of Filipino-made songs on Spotify grew by four times over the last five years, the streaming platform said in 2024.

IPOPHL also cited the rise of P-pop acts such as BINI and SB19, which further expanded the reach of Original Pilipino Music (OPM) globally.

“The boom is also driven by increasing access to legitimate avenues for digital streaming for both creators and consumers alike,” IPOPHL said.

The consultation was held in partnership with FlipMusic Productions, Inc., a local sound production house and record label.

FlipMusic Chief Executive Officer Jeli Mateo said the toolkit will be an “evolving document,” ensuring that artists will be supported at different stages in their careers.

It is also expected to help strengthen copyright awareness, promote responsible rights management, and support Filipino musicians’ careers, IPOPHL added.

The toolkit is a project under IPOPHL’s Copyright Plus Program 2.0, a series of initiatives seeking to raise awareness of copyright among under-resourced creators.

In 2024, the Philippines recorded 17.9% year-on-year growth in revenues from recorded music to $88.3 million (P5.1 billion), according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) Global Music Report 2025. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz