One licence, one right: what MACP actually authorises
A MACP licence is the first document most Malaysian businesses obtain, and the one most often assumed to settle the matter. It authorises a single right out of five. This page sets out which one, and names the four it does not reach.
What MACP is, and whose money it collects
Music Authors’ Copyright Protection Berhad administers one layer of copyright: the song itself.
MACP was registered in September 1989 as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, established to administer the public performance and broadcast rights of its members. Those members are songwriters, composers and music publishers. The property MACP licenses is the musical work — the melody and the lyric — considered separately from any particular recording of it.
This is collective rights management in its standard form. Individual composers cannot negotiate with every café and hotel in Malaysia, so a society negotiates on their behalf and issues blanket licences covering its repertoire. The blanket is the useful part and also the confusing part: it is broad within its layer and stops absolutely at the edge of it.
| Use | Authorised by a MACP licence? |
|---|---|
| Playing a song aloud on your premises — the composition | Yes, within MACP’s repertoire |
| Playing the specific recording you have chosen | No — a separate right, separately administered |
| Downloading, caching or storing the audio file | No |
| The publishing rights underlying the song | No — these are why permission is needed at all |
| The master recording rights | No |
One right of five. A venue holding a MACP licence alone has permission for the song and no permission for the recording of it that is actually coming out of the speakers.
The other bodies, and the other rights
Malaysia administers music rights across three separate societies, each with its own repertoire, its own tariff and its own renewal cycle.
Public Performance Malaysia represents Malaysian and international recording companies that have exclusively licensed it to control their rights in Malaysia. It issues licences for the use of sound, music video and karaoke recordings — the recording layer that MACP does not touch. Recording Performers Malaysia represents recording artists and musicians, licensing the performances embodied in those recordings. Performers’ rights are administered separately in Malaysia, which is why this market has three societies where neighbouring markets have two — and why the society route here means a third licence to negotiate and renew.
A business relying on a MACP licence is therefore exposed on at least two fronts before reproduction is even considered. This is the most common licensing error in the Malaysian market, and it is not carelessness: the MACP licence is a real document, correctly issued, that does exactly what it says. The gap is in what it does not say.
The public performance and broadcast of musical works within its repertoire, on behalf of composers, lyricists and publishers.
The sound recording, the performers’ rights in it, the reproduction of it, and the underlying master and publishing rights.
The mechanics of the recording layer, including one place where its coverage runs further than MACP’s, are set out in PPM licence Malaysia.
Reproduction, territory, and who answers
Reproduction is exercised whenever audio is written to storage — downloaded to a media player, cached by an application, copied onto a device in a back office. A MACP licence does not address it, and reproduction rights are granted by territory rather than travelling with a contract.
That territorial point is where foreign suppliers create exposure for Malaysian clients. A provider holding entirely valid reproduction rights in its own market cannot confer valid Malaysian coverage by selling into Malaysia. The file is cached on your premises, so the act happens here, and Malaysian law governs it.
Under the Copyright Act 1987, the party answering for music performed on premises is the operator of those premises. An indemnity in a supply agreement may give you a commercial claim against your vendor afterwards; it does not move liability, and a rights holder need not accept it. Who carries the risk, and the questions that expose a gap before you sign, are set out in music licence for business in Malaysia.
This is also why MUSICVYBE notifies the licensing bodies when a client comes on board, copying the client on the correspondence. The premises are on record as running directly licensed repertoire from the outset, and the record is in your hands rather than only in ours — which is the difference between producing a document and constructing an explanation.
Common questions
What is a MACP licence?+
It is a blanket licence issued by Music Authors’ Copyright Protection Berhad authorising the public performance and broadcast of musical works within its repertoire, on behalf of songwriters, composers and publishers. It covers the composition only.
Is a MACP licence enough to play music in my business in Malaysia?+
No. It authorises one of the five rights a business needs. The sound recording, the performers’ rights in it, reproduction, and the underlying master and publishing rights all sit outside it and are administered by other parties.
Do I need both a MACP and a PPM licence?+
Under the society model, yes, and Recording Performers Malaysia represents a third layer beyond those two, covering the performers’ rights. Each body sets its own tariff and licenses its own repertoire. A direct-licensing arrangement removes the need to hold any of the three, because every layer is cleared at source.
How is a MACP licence fee calculated?+
Tariffs are set by the society itself and typically turn on the nature of the premises, the audience size or floor area, and how the music is used. Since the collapse of the single-window arrangement in 2020, each licensing body sets its own tariff independently, so the figures are not directly comparable between bodies.
Does a MACP licence cover downloaded or stored music?+
No. Downloading, caching, copying or storing a recording exercises the reproduction right, which is separate from public performance and granted by territory. This is the gap most frequently left open in a Malaysian licensing position.
Clear all five rights with one subscription
MUSICVYBE licenses directly from rights owners, so performance and reproduction are covered together, in territory, with no society position to hold or renew. The library holds the performers’ rights in its recordings as well, so no Recording Performers Malaysia licence is required either. Fully managed across Lite, Pro and Signature — clients do not schedule, curate or operate anything.
Related pages
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| PPM Licence Malaysia | The sound recording layer, and the one gap it does close |
| Music Licence for Business Malaysia | Who is liable, and how to verify a supplier before signing |
| Music Licensing in Malaysia | The overview of every licence a Malaysian business may need |
| Music Licensing Laws in Malaysia | The five rights framework under the Copyright Act 1987 |
| Pricing | Lite, Pro and Signature, fully managed |