Jakarta. The National Collective Management Organization (LMKN) has demanded that Netflix pay an estimated Rp 75 billion ($4.3 million) in music royalties that it claims have accumulated since the streaming platform launched its service in the country in 2016.

LMKN Secretary-General Bigi Ramadha Putra said the video-on-demand platform had never paid music royalties in Indonesia since entering the market, according to the organization's records.

“The amount is estimated at around Rp 75 billion, which Netflix must settle for the period since it opened access to its commercial digital service in Indonesia in 2016,” Bigi said in a statement on Wednesday.

He said royalty payments by digital platforms are governed by Indonesia's 2014 Copyright Law, Government Regulation No. 56/2021 on the Management of Song and Music Copyright Royalties, and a 2025 regulation issued by the Law Ministry.

“Therefore, Netflix, as a digital platform conducting commercial activities in Indonesia, is required to respect copyright regulations and fulfill its obligations to rights holders,” Bigi said.

LMKN said it would take the matter to the Law Ministry and the Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry if the dispute remains unresolved, and could ask authorities to block access to Netflix in Indonesia.

“We will report this matter to the Law Ministry and the Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry, and if the regulations are not complied with, we will propose that access to Netflix in Indonesia be shut down,” Bigi said.

Under Indonesian regulations, the government has mechanisms to restrict or block access to online services found to infringe copyright or related rights, subject to recommendations and procedures prescribed by law.

Bigi said LMKN is among the parties explicitly authorized under the regulatory framework to report suspected copyright or related-rights violations involving electronic systems.

“Therefore, we can report this matter to the government,” he said.

More than a Payment Dispute
LMKN argues that the issue goes beyond a financial dispute between a streaming service and music rights holders because the organization alleges the payments have remained outstanding since Netflix entered Indonesia a decade ago.

“If an obligation has been established but remains unfulfilled, then we must pursue the legal mechanisms available to us,” Bigi said.

He said copyright protection affects not only the music industry as a whole but also the economic rights of songwriters, musicians, singers, producers and other rights holders whose works are used commercially.

LMKN has already made contact with Netflix over the issue, according to Bigi.

Representatives of the organization met Netflix representatives informally in London to discuss the alleged unpaid royalties, he said.

Bigi added that, based on information obtained by LMKN, Netflix has paid music royalties in the Philippines and Thailand amounting to hundreds of billions of rupiah.

Netflix had not responded to LMKN's allegations in the information available for this report.

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