UAE sets up music copyright agency to distribute royalties

• Sign of maturing music industry
• Set up by Ministry of Economy
• UAE aims to become creative centre

The UAE government has set up an organisation to collect and distribute royalties on behalf of music copyright holders in what has been called a “new era” for the country’s music industry.

Emirates Music Rights is the first licensing body for songwriters, composers and music publishers in the Gulf. 

It was set up by the UAE Ministry of Economy this month to ensure musicians and producers receive their royalties and their copyright is protected across media. 

In 2022 the Middle East and North Africa chapter of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) signed an agreement with the UAE Ministry of Economy to collaborate to develop the region’s music industry. 

IFPI Mena regional director Rawan Al Dabbas told AGBI the following year that the priority was to create frameworks for licensing, protecting intellectual property, collecting royalties and fighting piracy. 

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“[This] marks a new era for music in the UAE, where creators are empowered, their rights are protected and their contributions valued,” Al Dabbas told AGBI this week.

There was previously little legal protection for the region’s musicians. The industry has been lobbying governments to introduce regulations to foster homegrown talent.

Emirates Music Rights, with its licence granted under existing UAE copyright law, is part of the country’s commitment to becoming a global centre for creative industries under the Vision 2031 economic development plan, according to the Ministry of Economy.