On March 29, singer Li Ronghao publicly posted a message on social platforms to criticize singer Shan Yichun, who became a hot search topic, claiming that the singer had forcibly infringed on the singing of "Li Bai" when he was politely refused authorization to cover the song.
Li Ronghao publicly stated: "Recently, Shan Yichun called the Copyright Society of China and our copyright company to seek authorization to cover "Li Bai" in the concerts for the March 28 and March 29 Shenzhen concerts. We have clearly declined this copyright invitation case by email, but Shan Yichun still forcibly performed infringement at the Shenzhen concert on March 28 without obtaining authorization."
Shan Yichun issued an apology today, saying that she was also aware of the situation.
What is dramatic is that later, singer Wu Xiangfei publicly called out Li Ronghao, saying: "Recently I discovered that Li Ronghao had publicly performed "The Road Is Always There" written by me, without obtaining authorization from me or paying me any royalties."
Li Ronghao quickly responded to Wu Xiangfei: "Please list a few points clearly so that everyone can judge: 1. Which year and year did the performance you mentioned occur? 2. Was the performance you mentioned a solo concert in which I was the lead singer? I just checked and I was not in the personal concert. No one has ever sung this song in a concert, music festival or party; 3. Whether any company has requested authorization from you in advance; 4. If the ultimate responsible person is me, I will publicly apologize and admit my mistake, and I will voluntarily bear the consequences no matter how serious they are."
This evening, Li Ronghao once again urged Wu Xiangfei to provide relevant evidence. Wu Xiangfei publicly stated on the social platform at 8:15 this evening: "If the song "The Road Is Always There" was performed that day, if the singer was asked to sing it by the event party, did Li Ronghao, as a performer, verify with the organizer before the performance began whether the song was authorized by the songwriter? If Li Ronghao Hao did not take this action. I think the singer failed to fulfill his obligation to obtain legal authorization. If the singer himself asked to sing the song that day, Li Ronghao, as a singer-songwriter whom I admire very much, should know that it is both polite and basic respect to say hello to the author before performing other people's works in public. "
Regarding the issue of infringement, Peng Tao, chief lawyer of Shanghai Pumao Law Firm, told China Business News that songs, film and television works, etc. all have copyrights. If other people or institutions want to use the songs for commercial performances, that is, projects that generate revenue, they must obtain the consent and authorization of the copyright owner. If a commercial performance is performed without the consent and authorization of the copyright owner, this constitutes infringement. Once the judicial system finally determines that an infringement has been constituted, the relevant persons or institutions will be held liable for the infringement. If the copyright owner demands compensation, then the infringing party must pay compensation. Specific compensation includes economic losses, apology, etc.
Why does a song cause uproar?
"As an organizer or artist team, everyone hopes to reduce various costs and sell more tickets to increase revenue. In addition to necessary expenses such as stage, venue, personnel, service, operation and maintenance, publicity, etc., there is also an 'hidden cost' that the public pays less attention to, that is, copyright fees. If the singer sings songs that are originally created by him or his company's copyright, then there is no problem. But if you want to sing other people's works, you must obtain copyright permission, otherwise it will not be suitable for singing in commercial performances. But song copyright fees range from The copyright fee for popular or classic songs is quite high, ranging from several hundred yuan to several million yuan. For example, director Wong Kar-wai spent about 10 million yuan to purchase the copyright of some nostalgic hits. It can be seen that the copyright cost of high-quality songs is very high. It is conceivable that some organizers or artist teams choose to sing directly in order to control costs or reduce licensing troubles. However, if the original copyright owner sues for infringement, it will be very troublesome and may involve compensation." Du Ruiqi, who has been in the performance business for a long time, further analyzed the reporter of China Business News.
"Of course, whether to classify it as infringement requires rigorous and professional judgment, involving expert appraisal opinions, such as how many details are similar between the performance work and the original copyright owner's work. Judging from Li Ronghao's statement today, Shan Yichun's request for authorization for the song has been clearly rejected, but Shan Yichun still Although he sang relevant songs at the concert, on the surface, Li Ronghao's demands are relatively reasonable. Of course, further expert identification and legal procedures are needed to finally determine whether the infringement is infringement," Duan Zimian, senior partner of Beijing Jincheng Tongda (Shanghai) Law Firm, told China Business News.
(Du Ruiqi is a pseudonym in this article)
