The China Audio and Video Association did not levy royalty fees on karaoke bar operators in Guangzhou on New Year's Day, the scheduled start of the association's new fee regime.

Representatives of several of the city's key karaoke bars told China Daily that they had not yet received any notices in connection with the fees. They also said they would support the Guangzhou Cultural and Entertainment Industry Association's call to reject the charges.

"No one has contacted us in connection with the royalty fee payment," said Song Qingxiang, an executive at Guangzhou Golden Times KTV.

"Even if we had been notified, we would not have paid a single penny, at least not until the fee system is more reasonable and legal."

The China Audio and Video Association and the soon-to-be established China Audio and Video Collective Administration Association have been charged with collecting a 12-yuan ($1.5) daily fee for every karaoke room at bars in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The fee has generated criticism from around the country, with karaoke bar operators complaining that the charge is too high to bear and that the bodies charged with collecting the fees are not legally authorized to carry out such work.

Huang Shiqiu, president of the Guangzhou Cultural and Entertainment Industry Association, which represents the leading karaoke service providers in Guangzhou, described the new system as "absolute chaos".

He said that in addition to the high cost of the fees and the ambiguous legal status of the national collection agents, the company entrusted by the China Audio and Video Association to collect the fee in Guangzhou Guangzhou Yuansheng Digital Science and Technology Co Ltd is suspicious.

"The firm is a profit-oriented, private company," Huang said. "I wonder how much of the fees the company will keep and how much will go to the royalty holders."

According to the standard of 12 yuan per room per day, karaoke operators in Guangzhou will have to hand over a combined 1.2 billion yuan ($147 million) every year, he added.

"I really wonder whether the entrusted company is in any position to benefit from the substantial fees," Huang said.

He said Guangzhou's karaoke operators would resort to litigation to settle any future disputes.

Ouyang Xu, chairman of Guangzhou Yuansheng Digital Science and Technology, said his company would start collecting fees during the Spring Festival, which falls on February 18 this year, once the company has completed its preparatory work.

He said fee-collection would be transparent, though he declined to say how much his firm would keep.

Editor: Yan