Ha Jiang: a real performer?

On July 29th 2021, Music Business Worldwide wrote that Whet Records, Warner Music Group‘s pan-Asian dance label in China, signed a record deal with the artist Ha Jiang.

This virtual artist just inked a major record deal in China. One-off gimmick – or a sign of the future?

So …… what’s so interesting about that? Well, just like the world famous Lil Miquela, Ha Jiang is a virtual pop artist/influencer. We assume the record deal has actually been signed by the company who invented her and no doubt the relevant recording royalties (Spotify, Youtube, Tiktok etc.) will flow into their accounts. However, what about the neighboring rights? Generally, when a recording is played in public, the artist and record company split the neighboring rights royalties due.

Now, in the case of Ha Jiang’s recordings, there’s no problem regarding the record company’s share. But is there an artist’s share to be collected, and who would be entitled to it? Obviously, Ha Jiang is not a real person and can’t collect any neighboring rights royalties. So it would have to be the company behind Ha Jiang. However, in most legislations artist neighboring rights are regarded as strictly personal and can’t be assigned to third parties. So in that case, the individuals creating Ha Jiang’s performances would have to step forward and claim the artist share. That may not be too smooth a process. Would be interesting to explore.