Dancer Noze Has Not Been Paid Any Royalties For Her Viral “Hey Mama” Dance — Here’s Why

The ladies of Street Woman Fighter recently appeared as guests on YouTube channel MMTG, but it was a shocking confession made by one of the dancers that has started to take over headlines.

Noze, Aiki, Monika, and Lee Jung appeared on the talk show where they discussed a variety of different topics. However, it was a specific conversation that sparked following the host, Jaejae‘s recent discovery that has become the talk of the town.

I recently heard through choreographer Bae Yoon Jung that there is no copyright with dances. For lyrics and lyricists, they are entitled to their copyright fees even 70 years after their deaths. They can get paid from generation to generation. But since you guys don’t get any royalties, I feel like you could think that it’s all ‘useless.’

— MC Jaejae

It was to this that dancer Monika explained that while it is possible to submit oneself for a choreography copyright, the laws are ambiguous due to the many “loopholes” that one can go through.

So you can submit yourself for a dance copyright. But how it works is, let’s say you use this move [shows off hand move]. Each motion has to be recorded. But since that specific move is copyrighted and someone can say, ‘actually I want to tweak it like this instead,’ and that is considered to be okay.

— Monika

And while the copyright laws regarding choreography may be unreliable, Monika shared what she believed was the most effective method to pay choreographers for their work.

A lot of different people have been trying to figure out the best method to pay the proper royalties. In my opinion, the best method that I have seen so far comes when there’s consideration from the artist. In the states, dancers who had a contract while working with Justin Bieber would receive a percentage every time Justin Bieber performed a specific song.

— Monika

It was here that Jaejae pointed out Noze and her viral “Hey Mama” dance that became an instant internet phenomenon. The host shared how she wished Noze would have received royalties for that choreography due to its mass success.

Seriously, Noze if you copyrighted this [clapping] move, you would have made so much! Every time someone copies the move, you would hearing the clinking of money increasing in your bank account. You would have become so rich.

— MC Jaejae

If you’re unfamiliar with the “Hey Mama” dance, Noze created the choreography for an episode on Street Woman Fighter.

The catchy moves became an instant hit, as the “Hey Mama” dance became a challenge all over social media—and the popularity only grew when dozens of different K-Pop idols joined in on the fun.

ITZY‘s Yeji….

…NCT‘s Taeyong…

…SEVENTEEN‘s Seungkwan…

…Super Junior‘s Shindong, and more have taken part in the viral challenge.

It saw worldwide success and became the “it” dance of the year—which is exactly the reason why Jaejae could not believe that Noze did not receive any royalties for her work.

Be sure to catch the entire MMTG episode featuring the lovely ladies of Street Woman Fighter down below!