Is music maestro and composer Ilayaraja right in sending a legal notice to singers SP Balasubrahmanyam (SPB), Chitra and Charan for singing the former’s compositions at concerts.

Industry watchers and legal eagles believe that the veteran music composer may be right in demanding prior permission and royalty for his compositions.

“If a song has been composed by an individual and does not have a common ownership then an individual has the right to claim copyright on the same. However, if the rights for the composition has been acquired by a music label or film producer, then the rights wrest with them,” Safir Anand, Senior Partner, Anand and Anand, a law firm which specialises in copyright issues, said.

Copyrights cases Lawyers dealing in copyright issues said that there are two copyrights cases — one for the musical work and another for sound recording. Hence, when a person composes a work, he owns the piece of music. However, when it is recorded, the music producer owns the recording. Interestingly, in the case of a live performance, consent is needed from the composer.

E Pradeep, Copyright Consultant and lawyer to Ilayaraja, when contacted said, “We have sent a notice to the event organisers and not to any person. As far as copyright is concerned, we have been following such issues since 2015”.

Ilayaraja had in 2015 warned radio stations and television channels of legal action if they were to play his songs without his consent.

However in this case, lawyers point out that while SPB may need to seek permission or pay royalty, technically he can perform since he has lent his voice to the song.

Curiously, in India, singers cannot be barred from performance for copyright infringement as the onus of paying royalty lies with the venue owner.

Academy award winning sound designer Resul Pookutty too believes that the ownership should be with the original creator. “The singer is only a tool. The original composer’s permission needs to be taken before any performance. The Copyright Act also protects the original creator and gives him his fair share”.

A slew of industry watchers BusinessLine spoke to indicated that most singers “mint” money through shows, however composers are deprived of their share of the profit.

This is not the first time such an issue has cropped up.

Previous campaign Noted lyricist Javed Akhtar had previously spearheaded the campaign for the Copyright (Amendment) Act 2012 in India. The lyricist-writer’s efforts to ensure better treatment to the literary community resulted in the amendment to the copyright laws.

Akhtar had been fighting for the rights of writers, lyricists, singers and composers so that these artistes get a fair share in revenue in the form of royalties from music companies and production houses.

There has been instances too in the past where composer and music directors had taken legal recourse.

A couple of years ago, musician Ram Sampath had also filed a case of copyright infringement against Rakesh Roshan as he was not given due credit for Krazzy 4's music. Veteran music director Ravi Shankar Sharma on the other hand sued the producers of Slumdog Millionaire for using his song Darshan Do in the movie.

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