KOSCAP (Korean Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers)

KOSCAP (Korean Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is a non-profit collective management organization established in October 2014 under approval from South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It administers performance, broadcasting, mechanical reproduction, and digital transmission rights for composers, lyricists, arrangers, and music publishers, operating as the second licensed CMO in South Korea alongside the older KOMCA.

How KOSCAP Works

KOSCAP was created to introduce competition into South Korea's music copyright management sector. Before KOSCAP, KOMCA held a near-monopoly on collective rights management for musical works in Korea. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism approved KOSCAP's establishment specifically to give creators a choice of collecting society and to extend rights management coverage.

KOSCAP operates a selective trust management system (called "sin-tak beom-wi seon-taek-je" in Korean). This system lets copyright holders choose which specific rights to entrust to KOSCAP and which to retain. Members can entrust reproduction rights, transmission rights, webcasting rights, broadcasting rights, or performance rights individually or in combination. They can even select rights on a per-song basis. This flexibility distinguishes KOSCAP from many CMOs that require members to assign all rights as a bundle.

The organization issues blanket licenses to radio stations, television broadcasters, streaming platforms, karaoke venues, restaurants, retail stores, and live concert promoters. KOSCAP's 2025 royalty rates, approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, include:

• Performance (live concerts): 10% of box office revenue (statutory cap 19%)
• Broadcasting (terrestrial TV): 10% (statutory cap 12.5%)
• Streaming (on-demand): 9% (statutory cap 14%)
• Mechanical reproduction (sound recordings): 9% (statutory cap 9%)
• Webcasting: 12.5% (statutory cap 12.5%)
• Publication: 11% (statutory cap 14%)

KOSCAP had 520 full voting members (jeong-hoe-won) as of March 2026, when it held its 12th regular general assembly. The organization distributes royalties to members based on usage reports from licensed businesses, airplay logs, and digital streaming data. KOSCAP is a member of CISAC and maintains reciprocal representation agreements with collecting societies worldwide.

Membership fees for new writers are 80,000 KRW (approximately $60 USD) for the trust contract deposit plus 20,000 KRW (approximately $15 USD) admission fee. Music publishers pay 500,000 KRW. Students from elementary school through university receive a 50% discount on the trust contract deposit. KOMCA members who transfer to KOSCAP have the trust contract fee waived.

Real-World Example

A Korean composer registers 30 songs with KOSCAP, choosing to entrust only performance and broadcasting rights while retaining mechanical and digital transmission rights to manage independently. A Seoul television station plays 12 of those songs in a given quarter, and three karaoke venues in Busan operate under KOSCAP blanket licenses covering those works.

KOSCAP collects royalties from both sources. The television station pays 10% of the revenue attributable to music usage. The karaoke venues pay their licensed rates. KOSCAP distributes the collected royalties to the composer based on the usage data reported by each licensee.

If the same composer's songs are played on radio in Japan, KOSCAP's reciprocal agreement with JASRAC means JASRAC collects those royalties and remits them to KOSCAP, which then distributes them to the composer in the next international distribution cycle. The composer's decision to retain digital transmission rights means they must negotiate directly with streaming platforms like Melon or Genie for those specific royalties.

Why It Matters for Independent Artists

If you are a Korean songwriter, composer, or publisher, KOSCAP gives you an alternative to KOMCA. The ability to choose your CMO is rare in collective management, and KOSCAP's selective trust system gives you granular control over which rights you delegate and which you keep. This matters if you want to handle your own digital licensing while outsourcing performance and broadcast royalty collection.

For non-Korean artists, KOSCAP's reciprocal agreements mean your home PRO collects from KOSCAP when your music is played in South Korea. South Korea has one of the world's largest music markets, driven heavily by K-pop and a robust karaoke (noraebang) industry. Ensuring your works are properly registered with ISWC and IPI codes through your local PRO means KOSCAP can identify and pay you for that usage.

KOSCAP also publishes its royalty rates publicly, which is not standard practice for all CMOs. This transparency helps you understand exactly what percentage of usage fees flows back to rights holders. The organization holds regular general assemblies where members vote on business plans, budgets, and settlement reports.

Territory Covered

KOSCAP administers copyright for musical works within South Korea. Its licenses cover all public performances, broadcasts, transmissions, and reproductions of its repertoire within South Korean territory. Through reciprocal agreements with foreign collecting societies, KOSCAP also facilitates collection of royalties for its members' works when used abroad, and represents foreign societies' repertoires within South Korea.

How to Join and Membership Fees

Writers (lyricists, composers, arrangers) pay a trust contract deposit of 80,000 KRW (approximately $60 USD) plus an admission fee of 20,000 KRW (approximately $15 USD), totaling 100,000 KRW (approximately $75 USD). Music publishers pay 500,000 KRW for the trust contract deposit plus 100,000 KRW admission fee. Work-for-hire authors pay 250,000 KRW for the trust contract deposit.

Students from elementary school through university receive a 50% discount on the trust contract deposit upon submitting a proof of enrollment. Graduate students and graduates are not eligible for the student discount.

KOMCA members who transfer to KOSCAP have the trust contract deposit waived. The transfer process requires a 3-month waiting period after KOMCA cancellation before KOSCAP membership becomes effective. The trust contract period is 1 year and is renewable.

Overhead Rate

KOSCAP's administrative cost deduction (the percentage retained before distributing royalties to members) is not publicly disclosed as a single figure. The organization operates as a non-profit and publishes its royalty rates for users, but the specific overhead percentage applied to collected royalties before distribution is not published in its public materials. Members receive distributions based on usage data after administrative costs are deducted, consistent with standard CMO practice under Korean law.

Royalty Distribution Schedule

KOSCAP distributes royalties to members based on usage reports from licensed businesses, airplay logs, and digital streaming data. The organization had 520 full voting members as of March 2026, when it held its 12th regular general assembly. Specific distribution frequency (monthly, quarterly, or annual) is not published in KOSCAP's publicly available English-language materials. Members can check their royalty distributions through the KOSCAP member portal.

Reciprocal Agreements

KOSCAP is a CISAC member, admitted as a provisional member on June 30, 2021, with membership extended by the CISAC General Assembly in June 2023. KOSCAP has signed reciprocal representation agreements with several foreign collecting societies, including:

• JASRAC (Japan) for collection of KOSCAP members' royalties in Japan
• SOCAN (Canada) for collection in Canadian territory
• CASH (Hong Kong) for collection in Hong Kong
• STIM (Sweden) for collection in Swedish territory

These agreements enable KOSCAP to collect royalties for its members when their works are performed, broadcast, or streamed abroad, and to represent foreign societies' repertoires within South Korea.

Notable Members

KOSCAP's membership of 520 full voting members as of March 2026 is smaller than KOMCA's 55,000+ members. KOSCAP does not publish a public list of notable members. The organization was established to provide an alternative to KOMCA for Korean creators who wanted selective rights management, and its membership includes composers, lyricists, arrangers, and music publishers who chose to entrust specific rights to KOSCAP rather than (or in addition to) KOMCA.

Comparison Table

Videos

Similar PROs

• KOMCA - South Korea's largest copyright collective, the primary alternative to KOSCAP
• JASRAC - Japan's performing rights organization, with a reciprocal agreement with KOSCAP
• SOCAN - Canadian PRO with a reciprocal agreement with KOSCAP
• CISAC - International confederation coordinating global royalty collection

Related Resources

• Performing Rights Organizations (PRO) - What a PRO is and how it functions
• Performance Royalties - How performance royalties are generated and collected
• Mechanical Royalties - How mechanical royalties work alongside performance royalties
• Blanket License - The licensing model used by KOSCAP
• CISAC - The international confederation coordinating global royalty collection
• KOSCAP Official Website - Visit KOSCAP for membership and licensing information
• Use our Streaming Royalty Calculator to estimate your digital earnings