KUALA LUMPUR: The Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM) has clarified that Anugerah Industri Muzik 24’s (AIM24) Most Streamed Song is determined solely by independent streaming data.
Its chairman, Rosmin Hashim, said in a statement today that such data was provided by a third-party data provider via an automated process.
He said: “The song Old Love by Yuji and Putri Dahlia was not listed in RIM’s Domestic Chart, the official weekly chart that tracks the most-streamed local songs in Malaysia.
“This was due to a technical issue with the song’s International Standard Registering Code (ISRC) registration.”
An ISRC is a unique, permanent identifier for each sound recording and music video recording. It functions as a digital fingerprint that enables accurate tracking of sales, streams, and royalties across services and platforms worldwide.
“For songs to be recognised as local Malaysian releases in RIM’s Domestic Chart, the ISRCs must begin with the MY country prefix. This tagging allows the automated system to classify and include the recording as part of Malaysia’s local repertoire,” said Rosmin.
“In the case of Old Love, the song was registered under three different ISRCs that begin with foreign prefixes instead of MY. As a result, the track was not automatically identified as a Malaysian song and therefore did not appear in RIM’s Domestic Chart.”
Rosmin added that this technicality explained why Old Love, despite its popularity, was not taken into consideration for Most Streamed Song, as the category is based strictly on the RIM Domestic Chart.
“RIM acknowledges the concerns raised and wishes to stress the importance of securing ISRC registration through RIM for all Malaysian-produced recordings. This ensures that local artistes and producers receive due recognition, both in official music industry charts and music award considerations,” said Rosmin.
“We encourage all music industry stakeholders, labels, distributors, and independent artistes to work closely with RIM to ensure proper ISRC codings with the MY prefix for locally-produced songs. This will prevent similar issues from occurring in the future and safeguard the visibility of Malaysian music and artistes on local and international platforms.”
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
