IPOPHL backs Pinoy music with copyright campaign

With the Philippine music industry gaining unprecedented global traction, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) is stepping up efforts to empower Filipino artists with the knowledge and tools to protect their intellectual property and maximize the value of their creative work.
To support this push, IPOPHL recently convened a public consultation to develop a Toolkit for Filipino Musicians on Managing Copyright, a practical guide designed to help artists better understand copyright ownership, revenue generation, and rights protection in the evolving music ecosystem.

The consultation forms part of a project led by FlipMusic Productions, Inc. under its consultancy engagement with IPOPHL through the Toolkit for Musicians Project of the agency’s Copyright Plus Program.

The session gathered insights directly from industry stakeholders to ensure the toolkit reflects the real-world experiences, practices, and challenges faced by contemporary Filipino musicians.

The initiative comes at a pivotal moment for the local music industry. Filipino music consumption on the global streaming platform Spotify has grown fourfold over the past five years, while internationally recognized P-Pop groups such as BINI and SB19 continue to elevate Original Pilipino Music (OPM) on the world stage.

Industry discussions during the consultation highlighted a common challenge faced by emerging musicians—many sign recording contracts without fully understanding key provisions involving ownership rights, revenue streams, and copyright protections.

Participants also noted that knowledge gaps persist even among established artists, particularly in areas such as rights administration, royalty collection, and the role of collective management organizations that help creators manage and enforce their intellectual property rights.

The consultation reinforced the growing need for an accessible and comprehensive resource to guide artists in navigating the legal and business aspects of music.

“This toolkit is part of our broader effort to cultivate a more enabling and future-ready IP ecosystem for the Philippine music industry. 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,” said IPOPHL Acting Director General Nathaniel S. Arevalo.
For Jeli Mateo, chief executive officer of FlipMusic, the toolkit is envisioned as a living resource that will continue evolving alongside the industry.

“The consultation ensures the toolkit becomes more responsive and leads to the creation of a resource that is not only informative but genuinely useful for artists at different stages of their careers,” Mateo said.

Meanwhile, Fernan R. Dizon, officer-in-charge assistant director of IPOPHL’s Bureau of Copyright and Related Rights, underscored the initiative’s potential to strengthen copyright awareness and promote responsible rights management across the music sector.

The Toolkit for Filipino Musicians on Managing Copyright is part of IPOPHL’s Copyright Plus Program 2.0, an expanded initiative aimed at helping creators—particularly those with limited access to legal resources—understand copyright protection and harness its economic and cultural benefits.