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Collective Management Organisations (CMOs)
Find out about the roles and functions of CMOs that manage copyright licensing and royalties for creators.
Last updated 25 March 2025
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What is a CMO
A CMO is appointed by rights owners to manage the rights in their copyright works or protected performances. A CMO administers the licensing of rights, collection of royalties, and enforcement of rights on behalf of these rights owners. A CMO will then monitor the use of the works and performances, and collect licence fees on behalf of the rights owners. Users that need a licence to use one or more of such works or performances may obtain it from a CMO that administers the relevant rights, instead of approaching the various rights owners separately.
List of CMOs
CMOs operating in Singapore include the following:
CMO and contact details | Who the CMO represents | Rights the CMO administers |
|---|---|---|
Composers and Authors Society of Singapore Ltd Email: licence@compass.org.sg Website: www.compass.org.sg | Composers and lyricists |
|
Music Rights (Singapore) Public Limited Tel: (65) 6475 1181 Email: licensing@mrss.com.sg Website: www.mrss.com.sg | Various major record labels |
|
Copyright Licensing and Administration Society of Singapore Ltd Tel: (65) 6403 3970 Email: info@class-singapore.com Website: www.class-singapore.com | Authors and book publishers |
|
Motion Picture Licensing Company (Singapore) Private Limited Tel: (65) 6392 0152 Email: info@mplc.com Website: https://sg.mplc.com/ | Over 800 Hollywood studios, independent, special interest, and local producers |
|
Instorfm LLP Tel: (65) 8881 6681 Email: hello@instorfm.com Website: www.instorfm.com | Various Major Royalty- Free Artist & Rights owners |
* The licence is paid on a recurring basis upon subscription to the CMO’s music service, instead of paying royalties each time the music is played. |
Class licensing scheme for CMOs
The Copyright Act 2021 (Act) establishes a regulatory framework for CMOs under a class licensing scheme administered by IPOS. Under this scheme, all CMOs must comply with applicable class licence conditions. This scheme is governed by the Copyright (CMOs) Regulations 2023 (Regulations), which sets out these licence conditions. For more details about the scheme, please refer to our Guide to the CMO Class Licensing Scheme (CMO Guide) [PDF, 2.9 MB].
The class licensing scheme aims to inspire confidence in the collective rights management ecosystem in Singapore by promoting qualities such as efficiency, accountability, transparency, and good governance.
Definition of a CMO
A CMO is any entity which:
is in the business of collectively managing the use of content (i.e., copyright works or protected performances);
manages that content for different creators (i.e., authors, makers, publishers or performers) who are unrelated to the entity;
manages that content as the rights owner or with the authority of the rights owners, for the collective benefit of those creators or rights owners; and
offers one or more tariff schemes to the public in Singapore for that content.
An entity that meets all of the above criteria is a CMO, regardless of:
its corporate structure (e.g., whether it is a corporate or unincorporate entity);
whether its collective management business is for profit or its sole or main business; and
whether it is constituted in Singapore or overseas.
The Regulations also prescribe 2 classes of Excluded Persons: subscription-based services and corporate groups. These persons are exempted from the scheme and need not comply with the class licence conditions.
Please see Part B of the CMO Guide for more information on who is a CMO.
Class licence conditions
The scheme introduces a light-touch model of regulation, so CMOs are automatically licensed so long as they fall within the definition of a CMO under the legislation. CMOs do not need to apply for a licence from IPOS or pay any registration fees to operate in Singapore. CMOs only need to comply with all applicable licence conditions.
The licence conditions regulate 5 key areas:
Members' rights;
Distribution of tariffs;
Dispute resolution;
Governance, records and reports; and
Information provided to the public.
Below is a snapshot of the licence conditions. For more information, please see Part C of the CMO Guide [PDF, 2.9 MB].
Regulatory action
To secure compliance with the licence conditions, IPOS is empowered to investigate and take regulatory actions against CMOs and their officers for any breach of the licence conditions. Where a breach is found, IPOS may take 1 or more of the following regulatory actions:
issue a regulatory direction to a CMO or its officers to remedy the breach;
impose a financial penalty on a CMO or its officers; or
make a cessation order, which requires the CMO to cease its CMO business either indefinitely or for a specified period.
IPOS has the discretion to decide not to pursue the investigation or suspend further investigation.
For compliance purposes, every CMO must submit an email address to IPOS via email (Copyright@ipos.gov.sg). Failure to do so constitutes a breach of the licence conditions. For a summary of this requirement and other licence conditions that CMOs must adhere to, please refer to the Compliance Checklist for CMOs [PDF, 77 KB] (in the annex to the CMO Guide [PDF, 2.9 MB]).
An overview of the regulatory process and timelines is set out in the flowchart below. This process may vary depending on the nature of the alleged breach or the outcome of each stage of the process.
As a first resort, a CMO is generally held accountable for complying with the licence conditions by its members and users via its internal dispute resolution process. If this process is exhausted but the CMO continues to breach the licence conditions, its member or user (including an intending user) may submit a request for investigation to IPOS.
For further details, please refer to Part D of the CMO Guide.
For information on the forms and fees for each stage of the regulatory action process and how to submit the forms, please refer to our Forms and Fees page here.
What IPOS will not investigate
Under the class licensing scheme, CMOs remain free to determine the fees they charge for permission to use the works and performances they manage. Where a dispute on such fees arises, the Copyright Tribunals remain the appropriate forum for the resolution of such disputes. IPOS will not take regulatory action against a CMO or its officer in respect of the fees (or other terms of a tariff scheme) set by the CMO and, accordingly, will not entertain any request for investigation that is submitted in relation to such disputes.
Best practices
The class licensing scheme contains a dual set of levers: licence conditions and best practices. Licence conditions are mandatory. Failure to comply constitutes a breach that may attract regulatory action by IPOS, such as financial penalties. In contrast, best practices are not mandatory. They are resources that encourage and assist CMOs to meet industry and international standards. If and when necessary and appropriate, certain best practices may be elevated to licence conditions subsequently.
IPOS will be working with the stakeholders of the collective rights management ecosystem to develop the best practices at a later stage. Please check back here later for the details on the public consultation exercise.