HONG KONG musicians hope to gain almost $1 billion in extra royalties a year under a scheme to train mainland collectors.
Ten delegates from the Music Copyrights Society of China will receive a one-week intensive course from the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong (CASH) from Monday.
It will focus on how to collect royalties, license businesses and concerts, file litigation against offenders and establish international relationships with other societies.
A CASH spokesman said: 'We know our music is played almost everywhere in China, but they have not given us any royalties.' Songs by singers such as Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau and Faye Wong are popular on mainland radio and television stations, and in karaoke bars, discos, and restaurants.
'If the [mainland] society helps us to collect royalty, it will be 10 times more than our annual revenue now,' he said.
CASH collects about $80 million in royalties each year from almost everyone who broadcasts music in public.
