The lack of copyright compliance remains a hot topic in Indian music industry. On World Music Day today, artistes who are a part of copyright and licensing societies in India, such as the Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS) and Indian Singers’ and Musicians’ Rights Association (ISAMRA), talk to HT City about the ongoing struggle.

It’s unlikely for a music aficionado in India to not know about the issue surrounding the distribution of royalties for music creators and not just music labels and producers, which started in the 1960s. With music societies like the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS) and the Indian Singers and Musicians Rights Association (ISAMRA) spearheading the mission, the industry has come a long way.

On World Music Day today, musicians Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Sameer Anjaan and ISAMRA Founder-CEO Sanjay Tandon, in an exclusive sit-down with HT City, delve into the topic of music copyright and how these societies — which are of the musicians, for the musicians and by the musicians — safeguard the democracy of music in India by ensuring justice for all the stakeholders, including composers, singers and lyricists.

Unfortunately, in India, copyright is the least talked-about subject. If you compare the music of India to the scene in the US, UK and Europe, it’s suffering because these places have a proper copyright structure in place. In the initial years, more than the money, establishing the principle that you have a right is the greatest challenge. Also, while a lot was being done to safeguard the rights of composers and songwriters, singers were not really thought about. So, I decided to spearhead that mission.

I had returned from London in 2002 after a meeting with PPL (UK’s music licensing company) and Nadeem (one half of the composer duo Nadeem-Shravan) told me how important it was to preserve my rights as a lyricist. He said, ‘Future digital hai aur agar humare rights humare paas nahin honge, toh humein kuch nahin milne wala’. So, I met Sanjay (Tandon) and sought his support for the IPRS. We wanted to take the matter to the government. We were lucky that Javed (Akhtar; lyricist and Chairman of the IPRS) sahab became a part of this mission.

Sameer Anjaan says, “Javed Akhtar sahab felt so strongly for the rights of the fraternity that he decided to spearhead the mission and since he was a Member of Parliament, it worked in our favour. He had a meeting with all music labels so that we could mutually sort things rather than going to court. But they weren’t ready. In fact, some music companies said, ‘Hum royalty nahin, aapko bheek de rahe hain’. Javed sahab was told, ‘Aap jo gaane likh rahein hain, chup chaap likhiye, warna woh kaam bhi aapko milna band ho jayega’. Uske baad, Javed sahab ne kaha, ’Ab baat meri zidd pe aa gayi hai’. He did research for three years about copyright from across the world, made a file and took a delegation to meet the government. It symbolised our unity as a fraternity, and both the ruling party and the opposition supported us. That’s when the Copyright Act was amended.”

Sanjay Tandon says, “In August 1991, Lata ji and I attended a conference in Delhi and a minister in his speech said that singers are mere vocal instruments. That hit us hard. She was so upset that she wanted to walk away. Post that, I told her, ‘The mistake is ours. Bina roye to bachche ko maa doodh bhi nahin deti... Kya humne as a music community kabhi apna haq maanga?’ She asked me to promise her that alongside fighting for composer and lyricist rights, I would also fight for the royalties for singers. Lata ji, Sonu ji, Alka (Yagnik; singer) ji and Kavita (Krishnamurti; singer) ji fought for the rights of the singers since the beginning and Lata ji would accompany us to all the meetings. Her contribution to our mission was unparalleled.”

A lot of our contemporaries who joined us in the mission were not hopeful of a result. Kitni baar humari himmat bhi toot jaati thi. Kaafi singers ne yeh assume kar rakha tha that if they joined us, they wouldn’t get work. They were so fearful of getting on the wrong side of the music companies. But ab sab cheezein sahi direction mein hain aur woh singers jo pehle shak karte the ab dekh sakte hain ki sabke ghar mein cheques aa rahe hain. It’s great that all music companies are now with us and we work in tandem.

Jab se main iss industry mein aaya hoon, main nirantar ismein laga raha (fighting for musician rights and royalties). A lot of singers became part of the mission and quit after a while. But some of us, who were at the peak of our careers, were perseverant to not give up. We wanted to fight for the rights of our fraternity and we also lost work because of that. I am glad that we have come a long way and our efforts are bearing fruit. Achcha lagta hai jab humari meetings hoti hain. Saari music companies aur hum log pyaar se milte hain, achcha khaana khate hain and we discuss the way forward. Mere baare mein jo bhi negativity unmein (music labels) thi, ab sab theek ho gaya hai, so I am busy again (laughs).

- Earlier, songs belonged to composers, lyricists and the music labels. Singers were neither considered owners of the copyright, nor were entitled to any royalty. In 2012, this anomaly was fixed with a landmark amendment to the Copyright Act, 1957, which recognised ‘Performer’s Rights’ of the singer of a commercially recorded song for 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year in which the performance is made.

- Until March 2024, the IPRS claims to have distributed Rs. 500 crore among the artistes. “And this is still the tip of the iceberg,” says Anjaan.

- The royalties start ticking from the day a song is released, and is credited to the artiste after almost a year.

- The IPRS distributed its first royalty, Rs. 14,000, for the song Aayega Aanewala (Mahal; 1949) in 2013.

- The ISAMRA distributed its first royalty, Rs. 51,000, for the song Lag Jaa Gale (Woh Kaun Thi; 1964), says Tandon.