Indonesia is abolishing the fee for registering songs and musical compositions with its national copyright register, a move designed to encourage far greater take-up of the system and build a comprehensive national music database. From 1 August 2026, the charge will fall from 200,000 rupiah (around $11) to zero, though registration fees for other creative works, such as books, photography and film, remain unchanged.

The waiver, set out in Government Regulation No. 30 of 2026 and signed by President Prabowo Subianto on 2 July 2026, is intended to close a huge data gap: officials estimate Indonesia has around 7 million songs and musical works, yet only about 26,000 are currently logged in the country's music database, drawn from just two of its 17 collecting societies. The Directorate General of Intellectual Property says a fuller database will underpin fairer, more transparent royalty distribution by linking registrations to the national collective management body's payment system, and the change forms part of a wider planned overhaul of Indonesian copyright law covering AI mimicry and payments to news publishers.