Tony An Set to Earn Significant Royalties from Viral 'Ppikki Ppikki Challenge'

Singer Tony An, who composed the original song for the globally popular 'Pikki Pikki Challenge', is expected to earn a significant amount of royalties in the second half of this year.

Tony An appeared on the SBS entertainment program 'My Little Old Boy' on the 23rd and said, "I registered the copyright for 'My Lecon' (the original song for the Pikki Pikki Challenge) 3 months ago," and "I've earned 260,000 won since then." The song became a huge hit worldwide, but the reason Tony An earned so little money is because the YouTube music revenue has not yet been settled.

According to Ten Asia's investigation, YouTube music royalties are settled about a year after the revenue is generated. The YouTube video of cheerleader Lee Joo-eun, who sparked the Pikki Pikki Challenge craze, was posted at the end of June last year. Since YouTube music revenue distribution points are in January, April, July, and October every year, Tony An's copyright royalties for this song are likely to be settled in July.

The Pikki Pikki Challenge was a huge topic of conversation last summer, with famous cheerleaders from overseas and celebrities from Korea and abroad, including pop star Olivia Rodrigo, participating in the challenge. The video of cheerleader Lee Ju-eun of the professional baseball team 'Kia Tigers', which started this trend, has recorded over 90 million views so far.

However, Tony An cannot receive royalties from 'music streaming' before copyright registration. According to the Korea Music Copyright Association (hereinafter referred to as the Music Copyright Association) regulations, retroactive settlement of copyright royalties that were not settled due to unregistered copyright is impossible. An official from the Music Copyright Association emphasized, "It is beneficial for the creator to thoroughly register the copyright as soon as the song is released."

Reported by Min-Kyung Lee, TenAsia 2min_ror@tenasia.co.kr