MÜST (Music Copyright Society of Chinese Taipei) is a non-profit collective management organization founded on January 20, 1999, in Taiwan. It licenses the public performance, public broadcast, and public transmission of musical works on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers, collecting royalties from businesses and platforms that use music and distributing them to rightsholders.
How MÜST Works
MÜST operates under Taiwan's Copyright Collective Management Organization Act and is regulated by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO). As the sole active CISAC member for music copyright in Taiwan, MÜST maintains bilateral reciprocal agreements with CISAC sister societies worldwide. Through these agreements, MÜST administers over 82 million musical works globally and manages approximately 280,000 domestic works.
MÜST collects royalties from several sources:
- Radio and television broadcasters pay license fees based on revenue percentages set by TIPO
- Streaming platforms (such as KKBOX and Spotify) pay based on revenue share multiplied by MÜST's usage ratio on the platform
- Live performance venues and concert organizers pay per-event license fees
- Businesses using background music (restaurants, retail stores, gyms) pay annual blanket licenses
- Digital platforms including YouTube, Meta, and TikTok pay for public transmission rights
The organization charges a 7% management fee on collected royalties, meaning 93% of collected revenue is distributed to members. MÜST's board consists of seven writer directors and six publisher directors, elected at the General Meeting. The current 11th session was elected in 2025 with a tenure running from 2026 to 2028, chaired by WU, I-Wei.
As of April 2026, MÜST has 2,761 members, up from 1,012 a decade earlier. Public transmission (digital and online use) now accounts for approximately 52% of total revenue, reflecting a shift from traditional media to digital platforms.
In 2024, MÜST collected NT$785,168,608 in total royalty revenue, up from NT$718,254,271 in 2023. In May 2025, TIPO ruled that MÜST's newly established OTT audiovisual streaming royalty rates overlapped with existing 2012 rates and ordered them deleted. TIPO also set the streaming platform royalty rate at 2.75% of revenue (up from the previous 2.5%), rejecting MÜST's proposed increase to 8%.
Real-World Example
A Taiwanese songwriter joins MÜST and registers 30 compositions. One of those songs is played 200,000 times on KKBOX in a given quarter and receives regular airplay on a Taipei radio station. KKBOX reports usage data to MÜST, and the radio station submits its playlist logs.
MÜST matches the usage data against registered works and calculates the songwriter's share. If KKBOX pays NT$10 million in royalties to MÜST for the quarter and the songwriter's works account for 0.5% of total MÜST-managed usage on the platform, the songwriter receives a proportional share. With the 7% management fee deducted, NT$4,650 would be allocated to the songwriter from KKBOX alone (before publisher share deductions).
If the same song is played on radio in Japan, MÜST's reciprocal agreement with JASRAC means JASRAC collects those royalties and remits them to MÜST, which distributes them to the songwriter in the next international distribution cycle.
Why It Matters for Independent Artists
If you are a songwriter, composer, or publisher based in Taiwan, MÜST is the primary organization that collects performance and transmission royalties for your musical works. Without MÜST membership, you earn zero performance royalties from radio play, streaming, public performance, or digital transmission of your music in Taiwan.
Join MÜST and register your works before they are publicly released. Unregistered works generate no royalties, even if they accumulate millions of streams. Submit accurate metadata including ISRC codes, ISWC numbers, and split sheets to ensure MÜST's matching system correctly attributes usage to your catalog.
If your music is played internationally, MÜST's reciprocal agreements with foreign societies mean those royalties flow back to you. However, you must register your works with MÜST first for the matching process to work. Register a publishing entity if you want to collect the publisher's share in addition to the writer's share.
MÜST also operates a public welfare fund, allocating a portion of management fees to support music education and cultural development in Taiwan.
Territory Covered
MÜST covers Taiwan (Chinese Taipei). It is the sole CISAC-member music copyright society in Taiwan, meaning it is the only organization authorized to administer public performance, public broadcast, and public transmission rights for musical works in the territory. MÜST's jurisdiction extends to all uses of its managed repertoire within Taiwan, including radio, television, streaming platforms, live venues, businesses, and digital platforms operating in the country.
How to Join and Membership Fees
To join MÜST as a full member, an applicant must meet the following requirements:
- Natural persons (individual songwriters or composers): Must own copyright in or hold exclusive authorization for at least 5 musical works (or 10 units, where each lyric or composition counts as one unit, and an instrumental work counts as two units).
- Legal entities (companies or publishers): Must own copyright in or hold exclusive authorization for at least 25 musical works (or 50 units).
- Works must have been commercially published or publicly performed, broadcast, or transmitted by a MÜST-licensed user.
- Applicants must not be a member of another domestic or international music copyright collective management organization for the same rights.
- Applicants must sign an exclusive licensing management contract granting MÜST the right to administer their public broadcast, public performance, and public transmission rights.
There is no one-time membership admission fee for MÜST. The organization deducts a management fee from collected royalties rather than charging an upfront joining fee. Associate members (those with fewer works than the full member threshold) pay an additional 10% on top of the standard management fee. Applicants who do not wish to become members can also sign a commission contract to have MÜST manage specific works, though commission contract holders pay a 50% management fee and do not receive membership rights.
As of June 2026, MÜST has 2,780 members, up from 2,761 in April 2026 and 1,012 a decade earlier.
Overhead Rate
MÜST charges a 7% management fee on collected royalties, meaning 93% of collected revenue is distributed to members. Associate members pay an effective rate of 7.7% (the standard 7% plus a 10% surcharge). Commission contract holders pay a 50% management fee, though this arrangement is designed for rights holders who do not wish to become full members.
For comparison, this 7% rate is lower than many collecting societies globally. SACEM charges 7% for online royalties and up to 24% for certain usage types. ASCAP charges approximately 10-12%. BMI operates at roughly 10-11%.
Royalty Distribution Schedule
MÜST distributes royalties on a periodic basis, with domestic distributions typically occurring quarterly. International royalties collected by foreign sister societies are distributed in separate cycles, as those societies remit funds to MÜST according to their own distribution schedules. The timing of international distributions depends on when each foreign society sends its reports and payments, which can take 12 to 24 months from the date of performance.
MÜST uses usage data from broadcast logs, streaming reports, and live performance setlists to calculate distributions. Public transmission (digital and online use) now accounts for approximately 52% of total revenue, making digital usage data the largest component of distribution calculations.
Reciprocal Agreements
MÜST maintains bilateral reciprocal agreements with CISAC sister societies worldwide. As the sole CISAC member for music copyright in Taiwan, MÜST administers over 82 million musical works globally through these agreements and manages approximately 280,000 domestic works.
Notable reciprocal relationships include agreements with JASRAC (Japan), ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC (United States), GEMA (Germany), PRS for Music (United Kingdom), SACEM (France), KOMCA (South Korea), and other CISAC-affiliated societies. These agreements allow MÜST to collect royalties for Taiwanese creators whose works are performed internationally, and to collect royalties for foreign creators whose works are performed in Taiwan.
MÜST also collects fees on inward distributions from overseas societies, with a handling fee charged to members for these remittances.
Notable Members
MÜST's membership includes songwriters, composers, and music publishers across Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka, and indigenous language music, as well as classical, pop, advertising, and online music creators. Notable figures associated with MÜST include:
- WU, I-Wei (Chairman of the 11th Board, elected 2025, tenure 2026-2028)
- Peng, Ji-Kang (Standing Supervisor of the 11th Board)
- Wu Chu-Chu (founder and multiple-term chairman, pioneering Taiwanese musician)
- Chen Le-Rong (7th Board Chairman, songwriter and broadcaster)
- Li Nian-He (8th Board Chairman, songwriter and producer)
- HSU, Haor (songwriter featured in MÜST copyright protection campaigns)
- V.K and TSAI, Ariel (songwriters featured in MÜST member stories)
- LEE, Jess (songwriter featured in MÜST copyright protection campaigns)
- TIAN (songwriter featured in MÜST copyright protection campaigns)
MÜST's membership also includes major music publishing companies and record company copyright departments that have joined as organizational members.
Comparison Table
| Feature | MÜST (Taiwan) | JASRAC (Japan) | KOMCA (South Korea) | MACP (Malaysia) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overhead Rate | 7% | ~10-15% | ~12-15% | ~15-20% |
| Join Fee | No upfront fee | JPY 10,000 (approx. $67) | KRW 50,000 (approx. $37) | No upfront fee |
| Territory | Taiwan | Japan | South Korea | Malaysia |
| Distribution Frequency | Quarterly (domestic) | 6 times per year | 4 times per year | Annually |
| CISAC Member | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Members (2026) | 2,780 | ~32,000 | ~30,000 | ~3,000 |
Videos
Similar PROs
- JASRAC - Japan's performing rights organization, a major CISAC sister society with reciprocal ties to MÜST
- KOMCA - South Korea's music copyright society, another East Asian CISAC member
- COMPASS - Singapore's CMO, representing composers and authors in a neighboring Asian market
- MACP - Malaysia's music authors' copyright protection body, a regional CISAC partner
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 differ from performance royalties
- Collective Management Organization (CMO) - How CMOs operate globally
- MÜST Official Website - Visit MÜST for membership and licensing information
- Use our Streaming Royalty Calculator to estimate your digital earnings
