More than 50 karaoke bars in the city signed an agreement Sunday with the state authorities to pay a copyright fee of 6 yuan (US$87 cents) per room per day for the whole of 2008.

The payment was less than the authorities had initially asked for.

These were the first local karaoke venues to agree to the payment. More venues are expected to sign up, according to the Shanghai Entertainment Trade Association.

The association said the city was the nation's first to have reached an agreement with the Music Copyright Society of China over this year's payments.

"More than 3,500 rooms were involved in the agreement," said Zhu Nan, deputy director of the association and the general manager of the Jinbihuihuang KTV.

"Last year's fee was four yuan a room per day, and next year's payment is still under discussion," Zhu said.

In August, the Music Copyright Society of China announced that every karaoke room in Shanghai must stump up 11.1 yuan per day. The city has about 27,000 karaoke rooms.

Those payments would have been the highest in the country. But after discussions with KTV venues, the amount was cut to six yuan.

China began charging karaoke venues copyright fees in 2006.

(Shanghai Daily September 29, 2008)