#OneNETnewsInvestigates: Las Piñas students' performance raises questions on Music Licensing at hololive [EXCLUSIVE]
(Written by Rhayniel Saldasal Calimpong / MassCom Student for Piapi High School, Freelance News Writer & Presenter of OneNETnews, and Online Media Reporter of ONC)
LAS PIÑAS, NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION -- Something is really big during the 10th Moving Up Ceremony at the Las Piñas National High School (LPNHS) but feels so illegal to perform as students who have all graduated ahead of Holy Week last Monday morning (April 14th, 2025 -- Las Piñas local time) for the batch of 2024-2025 as some students are moving on to the Senior High for batches 2025-2026 by mid-June of this year.
hololive Production (HP) and Department of Education-Schools Division Office - Las Piñas (DepEd-SDO-LP) accidentally shocked the world as one MAPEH teacher (Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health) brought up the idea to have the students graduating from Junior High to perform and sing the song out of Japan.
As you may not know about it, 'Breaking Dimensions' is a song from hololive English's 2nd concert. The song is about breaking free from limitations and pushing beyond one's boundaries in life. The lyrics are inspiring, and the catchy melody makes it a global fan favorite among Hololive enthusiasts. The song was made by 'hololive English' with the VTuber groups 'Myth', 'Promise', and 'Advent', from the biggest names of 'Gawr Gura', 'Watson Amelia' and among others. They were previously performed last year in late-August 2024 at the Kings Theater in Brooklyn, New York, United States of America (U.S.A.).
The video of the performance praising the students' energy and coordination where it was exploded on social media with 94,000 views and a potential worth of U$D188 to U$D940 dollars (or PHP10,710.55 to PHP53,552.74 Philippine pesos) based on the statistical payout rates per monetized view. 'Sarah Jane Melgar', who is a 10th Grade MAPEH teacher at LPNHS showcases impressive performance. A video was obtained and independently verified to OneNETnews features the Las Piñas students singing and dancing in perfect sync to the song. The choreography is intricate, with the students moving in unison and performing complex dance moves. The energy in the room is palpable, with the students clearly enjoying themselves in.
But, the questions need to be asked. Is it legal to perform this at school? The MAPEH teacher in charge of the performance is the mastermind behind this impressive feat. An individual, who wishes to remain anonymous due to lowered age told OneNETnews, that the group fan member of hololive is Advent's "Nerissa Ravencroft", collectively known as the Jailbirds. Melgar shared their personal YouTube account by accident, she really doesn't know about hololive. Experts say, in theory, they need to travel to Japan for the entire tour on what was behind the scenes about hololive. She may have a chance to meet Ravencroft from Tokyo, and other hololive VTubers in person, via virtual conversations in teleconferencing or both.
Ravencroft responded to one Jailbirds' fan on hololive from Las Piñas City, she really acknowledged on stream about in-real-life performance: "It made me so happy like, I was already beaming and so excited. What a way to end off my day but, there is no way I was so happy! So, whatever Jailbird you are, thank you for liking and watching my stuff here at hololive. And thank you for showing your mom about Breaking Dimensions", she said.
The performance lacked official permission from hololive, which created uncertainty about the required music license. The Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (FILSCAP) functions as the main entity in the Philippines which handles music royalties. Theoretically, the school might need to secure a music license by next year in 2026 to perform copyrighted songs like 'Breaking Dimensions'. However, it's unclear if hololive would be willing to share music royalties with the MAPEH teacher. We reached out to Nerissa Ravencroft via the X Network (formerly Twitter, owned by X Corporation), but were yet to respond to our comment.
LPNHS's 10th Moving Up Ceremony showcased the creative and enthusiastic spirit of the students through their Breaking Dimensions performance. Despite potential music licensing issues outside Japan, the show delivers an outstanding performance. VTubers legacy must preserve history before hololive's graduation despite in-real-life performance out of Las Piñas for a better National Capital Region (NCR).
SCREENGRAB COURTESY: Ma'am Sarah Jane Melgar via FB VIDEO
FULL DISCLOSURE: We censored out all the student's faces from the request of an uploader and the officials of Las Piñas National High School (LPNHS) to protect privacy concerns.
SOURCE: *https://www.facebook.com/100053791971210/videos/2056440028185286 *https://vtubernewsdrop.com/high-school-students-sing-breaking-dimensions-junior-high-philippines/ *https://breakingdimensions.hololivepro.com/news/09/ *https://hololive.wiki/wiki/Breaking_Dimensions *https://x.com/hololivetoday/status/1912068699030171935 *https://www.facebook.com/LPNHSMAINOfficial/videos/1323098635617697 *https://www.facebook.com/100053791971210/posts/1215548413581546 *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II_4UQzHo0g *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcSuSzbj38M *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkNZf_DCKD4 and *https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/8/deped-eyes-to-end-sy-24-25-by-march-31-2025-start-of-sy-25-26-in-june-2025-1610
-- OneNETnews Online Publication Team
