Pre-reading questions:
- What type of music do you like?
- Who is your favorite musician or singer?
- Where do you usually listen to music?
Starting on January 2018, Japan’s music copyright management organization plans to acquire copyright fees from schools that uses music in teaching musical instruments like piano, guitar, and the likes. Some organizations like Yamaha Music Foundation are scrutinizing on how to manage the plan. Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers, and Publishers were also afraid that the said fees would hinder Japan’s music culture.
In April 2016, JASRAC started imposing changes on vocal and musical instrument lesson classes at cultural centers. In line with this, the number of students might decrease if the tuition fees increase because of transferring copyrights to the fees resulting to hindrance of Japanese culture development.
Vocabulary:
acquire – [verb] to obtain, get or receive something
scrutinizing – [verb] to examine or inspect closely and thoroughly
hinder – [verb] to cause delay
imposing – [ verb] to force or inflict something
copyrights – [noun] the exclusive legal right to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material
Comprehension Questions:
- What organization plans to acquire copyright fees on January 2018?
- Why is the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers, and Publishers afraid about the idea of having copyright fees?
- When did JASRAC started imposing changes on vocal and musical instrument lesson classes at cultural centers?
- What will happen if the tuition fees increase because of transferring copyrights to tuition fees?
Express Your Opinion:
- Why do you think music is important and how does it affect people’s lives?
- Why is music so important to the culture?
- With the increasing download rate from the internet, what do you think is the future of the music industry?