How UAE Music Royalties, UMG’s Hook Deal and KOMCA’s AI Rules Are Reshaping Music Rights
The UAE introduces commercial music licensing, UMG enables licensed fan remixes through Hook, and KOMCA accepts documented AI-assisted music.
The global music industry is moving towards a system in which music use must be licensed, creative activity must be documented and rightsholders must remain in control.
Three recent developments illustrate this transition. The United Arab Emirates is implementing collective music licensing for commercial users, Universal Music Group is allowing approved fan remixes through Hook, and South Korea’s leading music copyright organisation is conditionally registering human-led, AI-assisted songs.
Together, these developments show how licensing, attribution, royalty tracking and proof of human creativity are becoming central to the future of music.
What Is Changing in the Global Music-Rights Industry?
The short answer is:
The UAE is creating a formal royalty market for music played commercially.
UMG and Hook are turning selected fan remixes into licensed and trackable content.
KOMCA is replacing its complete ban on AI-assisted songs with a disclosure-based registration system.
Although the three developments concern different activities, they share one principle: music can be used and transformed, but only when ownership, permission, attribution and compensation are clear.
How Will the UAE’s New Music-Licensing System Work?
The UAE is operationalising collective management of music rights under Ministerial Resolution No. 136 of 2026.
The resolution was adopted on 29 June 2026 and became effective on 6 July. Collection under the new commercial licensing system is scheduled to begin on 1 December 2026.
From that date, covered businesses and organisations that use copyrighted music commercially will enter an approved licensing and royalty-payment system.
The framework is explained in legal analysis from Morgan Lewis.
Which UAE Businesses Will Need Music Licences?
Covered commercial users include:
Restaurants and cafés
Hotels and floating hotels
Shopping centres and retail venues
Fitness centres and sports clubs
Airlines and aviation-related services
Radio and television broadcasters
Concerts and entertainment events
Digital applications and music platforms
Other businesses that use music as part of their commercial activity
Licences will normally be valid for one year and renewable. The amount payable will depend on factors such as the size of the business, type of venue and manner in which the music is used.
For example, background music in a small café may be treated differently from a live performance, DJ event, national broadcaster or major hotel operation.
The exact tariff for every category was not included in the initial public announcement. The National reports that fees will be scaled according to the nature and size of the activity.
Who Will Collect the UAE Music Royalties?
Two authorised collective management organisations are identified:
Emirates Music Rights Association
Music Nation
These organisations will license qualifying music uses, collect payments and distribute royalties to represented rightsholders.
The system may cover several categories of music rights and participants, including:
Songwriters
Composers
Music publishers
Singers and musicians
Performers
Record producers
Master-recording owners
The UAE Ministry previously granted collective-management licences to the two organisations as part of its implementation of Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021 on copyright and neighbouring rights. The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism said the system would support rights registration, revenue management and fairer payment to creators.
What Is the UAE Cultural Support Fund for Music?
Ten per cent of the money collected under the framework will be allocated to a Cultural Support Fund for Music.
The fund is intended to provide financial, artistic and technical support to musicians and creative projects at different stages of production.
The remaining collections will still be subject to the applicable distribution rules, administration arrangements, representation agreements and any permitted deductions.
Does Every Music User Have to Pay?
Reported exemptions include certain:
Government entities
Educational and academic institutions
State-supported national events
Charitable activities
Personal celebrations without a commercial purpose
A business should not assume that it is exempt simply because music is not its main product. A restaurant, hotel or shop may still be using music commercially if that music contributes to the customer experience.
Why Does the UAE System Matter?
The UAE is transforming public and commercial music use into a structured royalty market.
For creators, labels and publishers, this could produce income from uses that previously generated little or no traceable payment. For businesses, it creates a new compliance responsibility.
Rightsholders will need to confirm:
Which CMO represents them in the UAE
Whether representation is direct or through a reciprocal agreement
Which rights are included
Whether both composition and master rights are covered
How usage data will be matched to their catalogue
What deductions and distribution schedules apply
Accurate metadata will be essential. A CMO cannot reliably distribute money if titles, writers, publishers, performers and rightsholders are incorrectly registered.
What Is the UMG and Hook Fan-Remix Agreement?
Universal Music Group and Hook have announced a licensing framework allowing fans to create approved remixes, mashups and social-media videos using participating UMG recordings.
Hook provides AI-assisted remix, audio-editing and video tools. Fans can use authorised music to create new social content while the original recording and its rightsholders remain identifiable.
The agreement was reported by Music Business Worldwide and Digital Music News.
What Is the Difference Between a Remix and a Mashup?
A remix changes an existing recording. It may alter the tempo, arrangement, structure, genre, instruments or vocal treatment.
A mashup combines elements from two or more songs into a new piece of content.
Both activities can require permission because they may use:
A copyrighted composition
Protected lyrics
An existing master recording
A performer’s recorded performance
Music combined with video
Without a licence, posting a fan remix does not automatically become legal because it is creative, non-commercial or made by a fan.
Are All UMG Songs Automatically Available on Hook?
No. The arrangement is based on participating artists, recordings and rightsholders.
Artists and rightsholders can control:
Which recordings are enabled
Which remix tools can be used
Which transformations are permitted
How the original artist is credited
Where content may be shared
How uses are recorded and monetised
This is important because a general agreement between two companies does not mean every artist, songwriter or recording is automatically available for every kind of alteration.
How Does the Hook Model Generate Royalties?
The model is designed to make fan-created content:
Licensed
Attributed
Identifiable
Trackable
Eligible for compensation
Instead of treating every fan remix as an enforcement problem, rightsholders can authorise certain creative uses and participate in the value generated.
Hook has previously integrated with social platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and SoundCloud. However, a creation authorised inside Hook should only be used through the channels and methods permitted by the relevant licence.
Permission to create something inside the application does not necessarily provide unlimited permission to release it on streaming platforms, use it in advertising or sell it commercially.
What Is Still Unknown About the UMG–Hook Deal?
The public announcements do not fully disclose:
Royalty rates
Revenue percentages
Payment schedules
Territory limitations
Catalogue size under the new agreement
Exact publishing-rights coverage
Rules for exporting creations
How disputes and copyright claims will be handled
These details will determine how much income the system produces and how widely fan creations can circulate.
Why Does the UMG–Hook Agreement Matter?
Fan-made remixes, sped-up versions, mashups and short videos already influence music discovery. Historically, many were created without full permission or reliable attribution.
The Hook model attempts to turn that activity into a controlled commercial system:
Fan creativity → licensed tools → attribution and tracking → rightsholder compensation
For independent labels, the lesson is not that every track should be freely remixable. It is that rightsholders can define approved transformations instead of choosing only between complete prohibition and uncontrolled use.
Does KOMCA Now Accept AI-Assisted Music?
Yes, but only under specific conditions.
The Korea Music Copyright Association has replaced its previous “zero AI” registration rule with a policy that conditionally accepts human-led, AI-assisted music.
The updated registration form took effect on 3 August 2026, and KOMCA announced the revised standard on 4 August.
Under the previous policy, operating since March 2025, any AI participation could make a work ineligible for KOMCA registration and royalty administration—even the use of an AI-assisted chord or production tool.
Under the new system, AI-assisted work may be registered when human creativity is substantial, leading and represents more than half of the creative process. This is often described as a human contribution of at least 51%.
The conditions are detailed in Sheppard Mullin’s legal analysis and reporting from The Korea Herald.
Can a Prompt-Only AI Song Be Registered With KOMCA?
No.
A song generated entirely from prompts without substantial human authorship remains excluded.
Entering a prompt such as “create a complete pop song” and accepting the first result would not normally demonstrate the required level of human creative leadership.
A creator must be able to show meaningful decisions in areas such as:
Lyrics
Melody
Composition
Harmony
Arrangement
Structure
Musical expression
Human revision and selection
What Must Creators Disclose?
An applicant must identify:
The AI tools used
The parts of the song affected by AI
How each tool was used
What the human creator contributed
Whether lyrics, composition or arrangement involved AI
The correct writers and ownership splits
Confirmation that the work was not produced only through prompts
A general statement that “AI was used” may not be sufficient. The registration must explain the creative process in greater detail.
What Evidence Should AI-Assisted Creators Keep?
KOMCA may request evidence including:
Digital audio workstation project files
Original audio sessions
MIDI files
Sheet music
Revision histories
Earlier song versions
Prompt histories
AI-generation records
Export dates and file metadata
Notes explaining human creative decisions
The principle is simple: creators may need to show how the work was made, not merely declare that they created it.
What Happens if Someone Provides False AI Information?
Possible consequences include:
Suspension of royalty payments
Recovery of improperly received royalties
Contractual penalties
Further technical or internal review
Termination of the creator’s KOMCA trust agreement
These consequences make AI disclosure part of royalty compliance, not merely an optional ethical statement.
Did South Korea Change Its Copyright Law?
No.
This is a KOMCA registration and royalty-administration policy. It does not amend South Korea’s Copyright Act or guarantee that every registered AI-assisted element will receive statutory copyright protection.
Korean copyright law continues to focus on human creative expression. The new KOMCA policy establishes an operational standard for accepting and administering qualifying music while the larger legal debate continues.
That distinction is essential:
KOMCA acceptance can allow royalty administration, but it does not independently rewrite Korean copyright law.
What Do These Developments Mean for AC Music and Kurdish Artists?
As a Kurdish music company based in Kurdistan and working with international distribution, AC Music can prepare for these changes through stronger rights documentation.
For UAE Royalty Collection
AC Music should:
Identify which CMO can represent its catalogue in the UAE.
Confirm whether representation covers compositions, masters or both.
Register accurate English and Kurdish titles.
Maintain songwriter, publisher, performer and producer splits.
Record ISRCs, UPCs, release dates, territories and ownership.
Check whether foreign rightsholders are covered through reciprocal agreements.
Review royalty statements and unmatched-use reports.
For Licensed Fan Remixes
AC Music should define:
Which recordings can be remixed
Which stems may be provided
Which transformations are permitted
Whether voice modification is allowed
Where fan content can be published
Required artist and songwriter credits
How revenue is divided
How unauthorised versions will be handled
For AI-Assisted Releases
AC Music can adopt a KOMCA-style evidence file for every AI-assisted release, even when the song is not being registered in South Korea.
That file should contain:
Human-authorship declaration
AI tool names and versions
Prompt records
DAW project files
Original human vocal recordings
Before-and-after versions
Editing history
Songwriter and producer splits
Permission for voice modification
A description of the human creative decisions
This documentation could become increasingly important for distributors, publishers, CMOs, copyright offices and streaming platforms in other territories.
What This Means for the Music Industry
The industry is moving away from informal use and towards documented permission.
The UAE is formalising payment for commercial music use. UMG and Hook are creating controlled spaces for fan transformation. KOMCA is allowing AI assistance when humans remain creatively responsible and can prove their involvement.
The common direction is clear:
Permission must be recorded. Creativity must be attributable. Usage must be trackable. Revenue must reach the correct rightsholders.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will the UAE begin collecting commercial music-licensing fees?
Collection is scheduled to begin on 1 December 2026.
Which organisations will manage music royalties in the UAE?
The two identified organisations are the Emirates Music Rights Association and Music Nation.
Can fans freely remix every UMG song through Hook?
No. Only participating recordings and approved tools or transformations will be available under the licensing framework.
Can a song created entirely from an AI prompt be registered with KOMCA?
No. KOMCA requires substantial and leading human creativity representing more than half of the creative process.
Does KOMCA’s new policy change South Korean copyright law?
No. It changes KOMCA’s registration and royalty-administration policy, not the Copyright Act itself.
What is the most important document for an AI-assisted song?
There is no single document. The strongest evidence is a complete creation record containing DAW sessions, revisions, prompts, source files, splits and an explanation of the human contribution.
Sources
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