Ahead of the implementation of mandatory music royalty payments on July 1, 2026, business owners in the culinary and entertainment sectors—such as cafes, restaurants, and karaoke venues—are now shrouded in uncertainty. The new regulation requiring copyright fee payments when playing music for customers has raised concerns due to a perceived lack of proper public dissemination.
Many small business owners claim they have not yet received operational guidelines regarding payment mechanisms, authorized fee collection entities, or the distinction between personal and commercial account usage. This lack of information is compounded by concerns about the royalty calculation formula, which uses the base salary multiplied by an adjustment factor based on the business's floor area.
On the other hand, business owners criticize the use of floor area criteria as the main benchmark for rates. They argue that this calculation is unfair because it includes non-operational areas such as storage rooms or restrooms, which do not contribute to the customers' music experience. Furthermore, challenging economic conditions make this additional cost burden feel quite heavy on business cash flow.
On a different note, legal experts emphasize that the formula was objectively designed to create fairness. Lawyer Phan Vu Tuan explained that the fee structure is already differentiated based on business scale and regional classification. For instance, small businesses with an area under 15 square meters face a much lower royalty burden compared to large restaurants, maintaining proportionality aligned with each entity's profitability.
To date, business owners continue to urge the government to promptly provide transparent enforcement mechanisms, more flexible fee packages, and a clear implementation roadmap. They hope for data synchronization between copyright management and music exploitation bodies to prevent overlapping obligations for business owners who are already compliant.
