Operation guide

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Operation guide

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Become a SPONSOR of the Musical Ecosystem and INVEST
in (and even OWN) your favorite music!

Music Cow, the world’s first Copyright Royalty Sharing Platform, is a space where music creators, fans, and investors share copyright royalties and sponsor the creators to create a healthy K-Pop ecosystem by establishing a virtuous cycle. In the current Korean music market, most consumers tend to enjoy their favorite music via ‘streaming,’ rather than ‘owning’ them. Under this market structure, many music creators & artists are suffering serious financial difficulties, and the overall market size of the music industry is way smaller than that of developed countries. Music Cow was created to establish a healthier & more beautiful musical ecosystem for everyone!

The ‘VALUE’ of a VIRTUOUS CYCLE of music that we make ‘TOGETHER’

Music Cow aims to create a greater value for music creators, fans, and investors through a unique system called the ‘Copyright Royalty Auction.’ Artists, music-loving fans, and investors will share the copyright royalties, and over 50% of the total amount raised through the auction (by the fans & investors) will be directly delivered to the artists right after the auction. The rest will be used for various activities such as supporting the K-Pop ecosystem, etc. Therefore, those who participate in the auction can ‘own’ their favorite music and earn copyright royalties while contributing to the creative ecosystem! Furthermore, the auction will increase the public’s interest towards the K-Pop, Music industry, which will positively influence the market and result in the rise of copyright royalties, ultimately creating a healthy ecosystem where all members can coexist.

‘Music Cow,’ the PERFECT platform for INVESTORS

In the era of low-interest rates & economic recession, the APY (Annual Percentage Yield) of installment savings are often unsatisfactory, and various funds end up being unstable and not safe. Compared to high-risk products that fail to meet investment demands, Music Cow, which is a leader of IP Financing, offers a new alternative with its stable & solid returns + high yield.

-Stable, Solid Return + Potential Expected Return

Thanks to the expansion of the copyright market, Music Cow’s investment in copyright royalties ranks high in terms of Return on Investment among all financial products in Korea. Also, due to the nature of copyright & copyright royalties (protected for 70 years after the original artist’s death), investors will receive the royalties on a monthly basis without any loss. Moreover, various factors such as the public’s increased interest towards the music market due to Music Cow Auctions, remakes of existing songs, etc., may lead to a significant increase in potential revenue (copyright royalties). Music Cow is an innovative cultural investment platform that allows the users to enjoy music, earn high & stable returns, and even have high hopes for potential returns.

“Average Return (Actual Royalties) compared to the Auction Purchase Price” of Music Cow Users between 2018-19: 9.1% (Pre-tax)

Additional Return Rate achieved through user-to-user transactions: 18.4%

* “Copyright Yield Return Rate” reflect the fans’ ‘voluntary’ high purchase prices. “User-to-User Transaction Return Rate” refers to the additional sales returns, excluding copyright royalty revenues.

-Predictable + Can be Cashed 24/7 = ‘BEST INVESTMENT’

Members can make ‘TRANSPARENT INVESTMENTS’ by judging the validity of their investments based on the detailed copyright royalty information provided by Music Cow. After purchasing the copyright shares, members of Music Cow can generate stable & long-term profit from monthly copyright royalties, while also earning short-term sales profit from user-to-user transactions. Users can make user-to-user transactions at the “User Market,” and can always cash out their earnings at ‘My Wallet > Withdraw.’

How can I ‘OWN’ music?

At Music Cow, you can OWN your favorite music by using the ‘Copyright Royalty Auction’ and ‘User Market.’ Participate in weekly auctions to OWN your favorite music! The Copyright Royalty Auction will be held on the following dates:

1) Monday 12:00 ~ Sunday 21:00

2) Tuesday 12:00 ~ Monday 21:00

3) Wednesday 12:00 ~ Tuesday 21:00

4) Thursday 12:00 ~ Wednesday 21:00

5) Friday 12:00 ~ Thursday 21:00

▶How to participate in an Auction in progress

If you have missed the opportunity to participate in the auction of your favorite song, you still have another chance at the User Market! At the User Market, the users can buy/sell the Copyright Shares of the songs that they have won in the Copyright Auction. Please refer to the User Guide & Instructions for detailed procedures and methods.

▶Go to User Market

Music Cow is currently operating a ‘Wallet’ function for better transaction efficiency and to prevent Shill Bidding & Bid Rigging. 1 Cash in Music Cow is equivalent to 1 KRW. Charging & Storing of Music Cow CASH will have the same effect of depositing real cash (KRW) (it is NOT considered as an electronic payment method (electronic money, prepaid electronic payment mean) under the Electronic Financial Transactions Act).

Interest on deposits will NOT OCCUR to prevent possible illegalities related to unauthorized deposit-taking from occurring

After logging in, select ‘Charge CASH’ in the main menu.

① Select or enter the amount you wish to charge

② Select payment method (Real-time Wire Transfer / Virtual Account)

③ Click ‘Charge’

When using ‘Real-time Wire Transfer’

Changes will be automatically reflected to your Music Cow account immediately after payment is completed

When using ‘Virtual Account’
Deposit the money to the virtual account number issued after the application. It may take about 10 minutes until the changes are reflected to your Music Cow account

After login, click ‘My Wallet à Withdraw.’

① Enter ‘Password’ à Click ‘Confirm’

② Enter ‘Amount’ and click ‘Request Withdrawal’

③ Check the amount you have entered, then click the ‘Confirm’ button

* Upon your withdrawal request, your Music Cow CASH will be deposited into your registered account (check ‘Personal Information Management’ page) after 3 P.M of the next business day.

* You can only request a withdrawal using an account under your name, so please make sure to check your account information before you make a request.

How to Cancel Withdrawal

* You can cancel your withdrawal request at the ‘Withdrawal Status,’ located at the top of your ‘My Wallet’ page. (Only available on the day of your withdrawal application)

Withdrawal Fee (Guide)

* Withdrawal to Domestic Account : If the withdrawal amount is less than 10,000 KRW, a 500 KRW fee will be charged. You can withdraw your CASH twice a month for free.

* Withdrawal to Foreign Account : Upon withdrawal, the exchange rate of the withdrawal date will be applied. The fee will vary depending on each country.

After login, select ‘My Wallet’ from the menu.

Check your ‘Deposit/Withdrawal Application Status.’ Completed applications will automatically disappear from the screen.

You can check your transaction history at ‘My Wallet,’ located in the upper right corner of the home page.

1) Can I sign up for Musicow under someone else’s name?

If you sign up for Musicow using other people’s names or personal information, you can be immediately suspended from using our services. Please make sure to sign up using your own name & personal information.

2) Can minors create a Music Cow account?

If you are a minor, please contact ‘info@musicow.com’
We will send you a ‘Signup Agreement Form (Minor)’!

Fill in the ‘Signup Agreement Form (Minor)’ (filled in by the legal guardian in his/her own handwriting) and send it to us along with a Family Relationship Certificate (issued by the legal guardian. After we receive and confirm both documents, we will proceed with the registration process.

3) I have recently changed my name. What should I do?

Send an abstract of your resident register (with the information of your new (changed) name) to ‘info@musicow.com.’ We will check the document and change your personal information registered to Musicow.

4) Can a single person use multiple accounts?

At Musicow, each member can only use a single account under their name.

5) Can a corporation sign up to Musicow?

Services for corporate members will be updated in the future. Currently, only individual members can sign up to Musicow.

Two-step Verification is an optional feature, and you can only set-up this feature via WEB Screen (PC)

Select ‘My Page’ after logging in to Musicow.

Enter your current password (for identification purposes), then select ‘OK.’

Select ‘Use Two-step Verification.’

Download the Google Authenticator (Google OTP) APP from the Playstore of Appstore and install it on your mobile device.

Launch the Google Authenticator (Google OTP) APP, scan the QR code located on the bottom of the screen, then select ‘Enable Two-step Verification.’

If the screen is closed before you have successfully registered the six-digit OTP number, you must re-scan the newly issued QR code to proceed.

After you have enabled the ‘Two-step Verification’ feature, you must enter the six-digit number shown in the Google Authenticator (Google OTP) APP every time you attempt a login.

If you wish to disable the ‘Two-step Verification’ feature, select ‘Disable Two-step Verification’ in the ‘My Page’ screen.

Click on the ‘Sign-in’ button (located on the upper-right side of the screen) and move to the login page.

Select ‘Find Password’ (located on the lower side of the login page) to move to a page where you can reset your password.

Enter the e-mail address that you have used when you signed up to Musicow, then select ‘Get a Password Reset Mail.’

A URL will be sent to the e-mail address which will allow you to reset/change your password.

After clicking on the URL, set a new password on the ‘Reset/Change PW’ page below, then click on the ‘Reset/Change Password’ button.

If you have forgot the e-mail address that you have used when you signed up to Musicow
Contact us at info@musicow.com. We will go through an identification process and help you find your e-mail address.

Select ‘My Page’ from the top menu.

After making the changes in the ‘My Page’ menu, click ‘Modify’ to complete the modification.

Select ‘My Page’ from the top menu. Then, click the ‘Delete Account’ button located on the lower side of the screen to delete your account.

**Keep in mind that in the case where you own a copyright or CASH, both of them will automatically be lost if you delete your account without making any separate requests.

What is ‘Copyright Royalty Auction?’

The Copyright Royalty Auction is a new cultural-investment service that allows anyone to become a member of the music ecosystem and jointly own the royalty from copyright of other artist’s work through the disclosure of the artist’s copyright royalty share.

The fans/investors can purchase their favorite music and sponsor their favorite artists as a part of the copyright community, while receiving copyright royalties on a monthly basis.

Artists who share their copyright royalty can focus on their creative/musical activities thanks to the amount funded through an auction by their fans. Moreover, as the interest in the song increases thanks to the auction, it will naturally affect the use of the song, resulting in a significant increase in future copyright royalties.

When does the auction take place?

The songs will be disclosed to the public on every weekday at 12 P.M, and the auction will close at 9 P.M, 6 days after the start of the auction.

* Open on Mon. 12:00 ~ Closed on Sun. 21:00

* Open on Tue. 12:00 ~ Closed on Mon. 21:00

* Open on Wed. 12:00 ~ Closed on Tue. 21:00

* Open on Thu. 12:00 ~ Closed on Wed. 21:00

* Open on Fri. 12:00 ~ Closed on Thu. 21:00

How can I participate in the auction?

①    Trade > Ongoing auctions > Participate

②    Enter the desired Bid Quantity / Bid Price

③    Click ‘Make Bid’ to make your bid

* To prevent false bids, when you make a bid over 50,000 KRW, 5% of the total bid amount will be set as a Bid Security.

The winning bid will be decided sequentially starting from the user who made the highest bid as of 9 P..M of the closing day of the auction. If the Bid Price is the same, the winning bid will be decided in a first-come, first-served basis (earlier bid wins).

To the users who won the auction, we will send an e-mail/KAKAO notification message about the deposit deadline and the money you have to deposit.

A SMS message will be sent to users who do not use KakaoTalk.

If you keep your wallet balance above the amount that you have to deposit until the deposit deadline (One day after the auction deadline, 10 A.M), our staff member will confirm and finalize the deal.

▶Go to ‘Ongoing Auctions’

‘Bid Security’ refers to a ‘Security Deposit’ that is used to prevent false bids.

When the total bid amount (number of shares * price) exceeds 50,000 KRW, 5% of the total bid amount will be set as the Bid Security

When re-bidding, the Bid Security will be adjusted based on your new bid. You cannot cancel your bid during the last day of the auction, and you can only make new bids with ‘higher price/quantity’ compared to your previous bid.

However, if a winning bid is canceled due to non-payment, the Bid Security will be automatically deducted from your Wallet. Also, please note that you might receive various penalties & disadvantages that might limit your use of Musicow.

Go to ‘My Copyright’ (top-right side of the homepage) > Auction & My Bids to check your Bidding History.

Based on the closing time of the auction, the highest bid will win the shares sequentially (according to their bid quantity). If the bid price is the same, the bid that was made earlier shall win.

You can check the current bidding status/progress at the Detail page if the auction song.

‘Winning Bid’ means that your bid is expected to win the auction if no one else is making a higher bid.

‘Winning Bid (Partial, First-come / First-served)’ means that the total quantity of the winning bids (same price range) were higher than the quantity available, so the winning bids will be determined based on a first-come, first-served basis (earlier bid wins).

‘-‘ means that you cannot win the auction unless you make another bid with a higher price.

After the auction is closed, we will send an e-mail and a Kakao notification to those who won the auction.

However, for members who do not use KakaoTalk, we will send the notification via e-mail & text messages.

(SMS/Text messages will only be sent to Korean members)

If you keep your wallet balance over the total bid amount within the deposit deadline, it will be automatically reflected to our system after confirmation (confirmation will be made at the Bid Processing Deadline)

<Bid Processing Deadline (After Auction is finished)>

10 A.M, 1 day after the end of the auction

If your wallet is already charged with enough CASH, you don’t need to charge additional money.

However, please note that if your wallet does not have enough CASH on the deposit deadline due to various reasons (User Market, Bid Security of other auctions, etc.) your bid will be canceled.

You can check the copyrights that you own in ‘Main Homepage > My Copyright > Owned Copyrights.’

And after receiving royalty settlement from the Copyright Association, Musicow will calculate and send the copyright royalty every month (on the first business day) to your 'My Wallet' according to the amount of 'shares' and 'days' you have owned the copyright.

If your wallet does not have enough money on the deadline, your bid will be automatically canceled.

Please understand that we cannot help you once the deadline is over since we must make sure that there is no unfairness between users.

Cancelation of a winning bid due to non-payment may lead to various penalties & disadvantages.

<Penalties>

One Non-payment: 3-day suspension

Two Non-payments: 14-day suspension

Three Non-payments: Permanently Banned

After logging in, click ‘Transactions’ à ‘User Market.’

1. Click the song you wish to purchase to go to the Details page.

2. The desired selling price & buying price from other users will be shown on the left (10 prices, starting from the lowest). If you click a price, it will automatically be entered as the ‘desired buying price’ on the right.

3. Click ‘Purchase’ and check all the boxes below. Then, click ‘Confirm’ to complete your purchase.
You can check the copyrights that you own at ‘My Copyrights > Owned Copyrights.’

* If you apply for a purchase at an amount other than the indicated ‘desired selling price,’ your request will be transferred to the ‘Waiting List.’

The purchase will be automatically completed once there is a user who wishes to sell their copyright under your desired buying price.

You can check your ‘Waiting’ status at the ‘Waiting for Transaction’ window on the Song Detail page.

* At Musicow, we charge a transaction fee of 1.2% (1 share) to maintain & operate a smooth trading platform. The transaction fee is limited to max. 300 KRW per share.

After logging in, go to ‘My Copyrights > Owned Copyrights.’

1. Click the song you wish to sell and go to the Song Detail Page.

2. The desired selling price & buying price from other users will be shown on the left (10 prices, starting from the lowest). If you click a price, it will automatically be entered as the ‘Selling price’ on the right.

3. After setting the quantity that you wish to sell, click ‘Sell’ and check all the boxes below. Then, click ‘Confirm’ and your request will be added to the list. You can check your transaction status at the ‘Waiting for Transaction’ list in the Song Detail page.

4. If anyone wants to purchase the copyright at a price above your selling price, the transaction will be automatically completed, and the money will be directly added to ‘My Wallet.’

* If you wish to make a sales request at a price other than the indicated desired price, set the quantity & price, then click ‘Sell.’ After checking all the boxes below, click ‘Confirm’ to complete the sales registration.

* At Musicow, we charge a transaction fee of 1.2% (1 share) to maintain & operate a smooth trading platform. The transaction fee is limited to max. 300 KRW per share.

‘1 Share’ is the smallest unit in which the copyright royalty of the song can be divided, and it refers to the right to receive the copyright royalty.

All copyright royalty-related data (revenue, etc.) shown in Musicow is based on the unit of ‘1 Share.’

You can check the exact amount (share) of copyright royalty for ‘1 Share’ in the ‘Copyright Information’ section of each song.

In the case of music, the term ‘copyright’ is normally divided into ‘Author’s Rights’ and ‘Neighboring Rights.’

‘Author’s Rights

‘Author’s Rights’ is a right held by the creator of the original work (in the case of music, lyricist/songwriter/arranger/etc.), or a person who has transferred/inherited the right from the original holder.

Neighboring Rights

‘Neighboring Rights’ is a right held by the performer (in the case of music, singer/producer/etc.) who interprets & delivers the original work to the consumers so they can enjoy it..

Among them, the neighboring rights that are serviced through Musicow through an auction are mostly the rights of producers who are highly related to the Author’s Rights.

Under the current Copyright Act, the rights of music producers include the right to reproduce, right to distribute, right to rent, right to transmit (for record producers/digital audio transmission service providers/performers who perform using a commercial record), and the right to claim for compensation.

In terms of ‘value,’ considering that both author’s right & neighboring right are rights that are protected on a long-term basis, there is not much difference between the current value of author’s right and neighboring right (earned by converting the expected future profit to current value)

However, under the current law, the author’s right is protected for 70 years after the death of the original author (artist), and the neighboring right is protected for 70 years after the release of the record. Therefore, you must remember that if you hold decide to purchase a share of neighboring rights, the amount of time where you can receive the copyright royalty will be relatively short.

According to the current Copyright Act, the author’s right will last for 70 years after the death of the original author (in the case where there are multiple authors (co-author), 70 years after the death of ‘all’ authors), and the neighboring right (record producer’s right) will last for 70 years after the release of the record.

According to the current Copyright Act, the person who holds the author’s right has the right to reproduce, perform, transmit, display, distribute, rent, and adapt the original work. Therefore, a fee shall occur whenever someone else attempts to use the work (music) for the purposes stated above.

Copyright fees are collected by the Copyright Trust in accordance with a set of regulations. Even at this moment, copyright fees are constantly being collected from numerous sources such as broadcasting networks (TV, Radio, YouTube, etc.), online music streaming services (Melon, Bugs Music, etc.), various performances (karaoke, concert, etc.), publishers, etc.

Under the Copyright Act, only non-profit trust institutions authorized by the Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism are allowed to collect and distribute copyright royalties in Korea.

As a for-profit organization, Musicow CANNOT be a copyright trust management organization, and is not authorized to collect and distribute copyright royalties.

Therefore, Musicow has signed up as a member of the Copyright Trust and is constantly giving away the distributed copyright royalties to the music investors.

Usually, copyright royalties occur the most in the first year when the song is released. Then, the total amount of copyright royalties gradually decreases over the first and second year. After that, it tends to stabilize.

In principle, when a song is remade, the copyright of the remake song is attributed to the original song. Therefore, the copyright royalty usually increases when a song is remade.

However, the rights to the remake song may be limited according to the special agreement of the transfer contract with the original artist. In this case, the details will be shown separately in the song information.

However, the amount of copyright royalties will vary depending on the popularity of the remade song. Moreover, even when a song is remade, the royalty WILL NOT increase significantly in the next month since it takes time for the collected royalties to be distributed.

If you are expecting a rise in copyright royalties after a remake, it would be wise to hold the rights of the song for a long period of time.

The copyright royalty might vary depending on the popularity of the remake.

Musicow DOES NOT GUARANTEE future copyright royalties under any circumstances.

The settlement period of monthly copyright royalties is different from the period where the actual works (songs) are disclosed to the public and used due to the time required to accurately identify the users who are subject to settlement. The settlement (distribution) period of copyright royalties by media is a shown in the table below. For more information, please visit the website of the Korea Music Copyright Association. If additional contracts are signed with overseas publishers, the distribution will be made according to the settlement cycles of overseas publishers.

The copyright royalty provided by Musicow is a right purchased from the original author (original holder). Therefore, the copyright royalty collected from the date of purchase will be distributed to our members.

When you own the copyright of a certain song, a profit will occur when you receive a monthly settlement (copyright royalty) and when you sell the copyright at a price higher than the amount you have used to purchase it, both of which shall be classified as ‘Other Income.’

In the case of ‘Other Income,’ you can select ‘separate taxation’ to conclude your tax obligation if the income per case is less than 50,000 KRW and your annual other income (total) is less than 3,000,000 KRW.

However, if your annual other income (total) exceeds 3,000,000 KRW, you must add the ‘Other Income’ to the global income tax base and report it by the end of late May every year.

When does taxation occur while using Musicow?

1. When your copyright royalty income exceeds 50,000 KRW

2. When your sales revenue exceeds 50,000 KRW

Musicow Tax Return Filing

* NO withholding tax when below 50,000 KRW/case, which is the tax threshold.

[See: INCOME TAX ACT Standards for Enforcement 84-0-1 [Sphere of Application of Other Income Tax Threshold (by case)]

* If the copyright royalty and sales revenue exceed 50,000 KRW per case, 22% of the total revenue will be withheld. Then, you must report your revenue as ‘other income’ and pay the taxes.

* The ‘other income’ of Musicow does NOT exclude necessary expenses.

** If you have the following income, you are subject to the Global Income Tax Return

1. Total amount of below 50,000 KRW/case + above 50,000 KRW/case exceeds 3,000,000 KRW/year

2. Only have cases that are below 50,000 KRW/case, and ‘other income’ exceeds 3,000,000 KRW/year

3. Only have cases that are above 50,000 KRW/case, and ‘other income’ exceeds 3,000,000 KRW/year

4. The total amount of other income (excluding necessary expenses) outside of the income from Musicow exceeds 3,000,000 KRW/year

How to file a Global Income Tax Teturn

* Period: May 1^st ~ 31^st every year

* Procedure:

1. Visit the homepage of National Tax Service (http://www.hometax.go.kr) and file it yourself

2. Visit a tax office under local jurisdiction to file a tax return

3. Contact a nearby tax accounting office for professional help

Members who didn’t provide us with their resident registration number

For members who did not provide us with their resident registration number, we are sorry to inform you that we (Musicow) cannot proceed with the withholding tax filing on behalf of you. You will have to file a return and make a payment directly according to the taxation requirements of ‘Other Income Tax’ described above.

We are issuing cash receipts for actual purchases you’ve made in the auction and user-to-user transaction fees (not the amount you have charged). We are issuing cash receipts on the 3^rd of every month (on the next business day if 3^rd is a holiday) for all purchases made in the previous month and all of the fees incurred during the previous month.

Operation guide

MUSICOW

wallet (charge)

account

auction

Buy

Sell

Royalty