The monthly fee for freely listening to music online is expected to more than double next year.

The nation’s largest online music service portal Melon has decided to raise its current 3,000 won monthly plan, which provides unlimited access to listen to its music, to 6,000 won, sources said.

The price of Melon’s monthly plan to download up to 150 songs will also rise, from 9,000 won to 15,000 won, according to the sources.

LOEN Entertainment Inc., which runs Melon, said on Tuesday that the new rates will be applied from Jan. 1, 2013. Melon currently has the most users in the market, with about 18 million registered users and about 2 million users of prepaid plans.

As the leading online music portal is poised to raise its fees, other rival providers likely will join the move.

KMP Holdings, a music distributor funded by seven major local entertainment agencies, said it is in the final process of discussing new charges.

Industry sources expect that online music providers Bugs and Mnet, managed by Neowiz Internet Corp. and CJ E&M Corp., respectively, will eventually follow suit as well.

The move to raise prices comes after the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced an amended regulation in June 2011 to raise the price of online music services to ensure patent rights and higher margins for musicians and patent holders.

In the same month, the ministry held negotiations with the nation’s biggest entertainment agencies ― SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment ― and music distributor KMP Holdings. The ministry decided to raise the price of music streaming services to 12 won apiece and music downloading services to 600 won apiece.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)