Music To The Ears

WHEN Khemchand Prakash passed away, he left behind an impoverished widow and the haunting Aayega Aanewala . It was a melody that made musical history, remembered and replayed by buffs of a bygone era. His family, having fallen on hard days, was meanwhile forgotten. Last year, however, Mrs Prakash found herself richer by Rs 16,000. Justifiably so. The Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) has been given a shot in the arm with the amendment of the 1957 Copyright Act and a certificate of approval from the Union Government. This in turn, has given a new lease of life to music directors and their kin.

 Effective May 10, 1996, the non-profit organisation is poised to enforce a code of how to conduct musical dos so that the original music directors, songwriters and publishers get credit and—their dues. Which means music performed in public will not be only for one's listening pleasure. The rule in the IPRS book is clear: pay up and then play on.

Says Sanjay Tandon, general manager, IPRS: "Anybody in the country who plays music in public or exploits it commercially has to take permission from the IPRS, failing which the offender is liable for prosecution." "Anybody" in this case, includes radio stations, satellite channels, airlines, hotels, restaurants, theatres, petrol pumps, paan shops, even marriage bands. The minimum fine is anything between Rs 50,000 and Rs 2 lakh coupled with imprisonment for a minimum six months extending up to three years.

Last year alone, the IPRS distributed more than Rs 1 crore to its artistes—a dramatic increase from the Rs 8 lakh distributed four years ago. Says Tandon: "We have an iden-tified pool comprising in-service stations, satellite channels, etc which send us a monthly programme list. Since statements from unidentified pools such as restaurants are not possible, they have to pay a fixed amount." Twelve licensing officers from the IPRS scour the metros to check for illegal performances of copyright music. After deducting the actual expenditure, 30 per cent of the total sum collected goes to the composers, 20 per cent to songwriters and 50 per cent to publishers.

Depending on the medium, there are 150 tariffs in all: FM channels are required to pay Rs 225 per hour; live shows have to part with 2 per cent of the gate money collection; radio and TV ad jingles adapting old tunes have to shell out Rs 7,500 and Rs 22,500 respectively. Restaurants, which until recently paid a royalty of Rs 250 per year, now have to pay the cost of one cup of tea per day. Says Tandon: "We are also affiliated to 164 sub-societies worldwide and the reciprocal arrangement helps us recover dues for Indian songs played overseas. We collected Rs 1 crore from Channel 4 and BBC last year."

 While IPRS members are enthused, others are not. For a long time now, music copyright has been invested with the film producer. "The film producer has the right to use the music in whichever way he wants in the film itself—not otherwise. This was a little known fact which cost the songwriters, the publishers and the music directors a tidy sum, especially if you consider the popularity of Hindi music. Through the IPRS, we can now claim our rights from the producers," says Sameer, a music director. With 622 members (368 composers, 223 songwriters and 31 publishers), IPRS now represents 97 per cent of the music market, having control over the copyright of members 60 years after their demise.

But a battle is brewing as producers feel that the IPRS is making an unnecessary song and dance over the entire issue. "Who is the IPRS to decide this?" asks G.P. Sippy, producer and former president of the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association. Says Sippy: "The composers, songwriters and publishers come into the picture because of the producers. They get paid lavishly and unless a clause in the agreement specifically mentions otherwise, all rights belong to the producers." Film producers feel the money may now roll straight into IPRS coffers.

Besides, the issues of plagiarism and the present preoccupation with remixes still hang in the balance. Majrooh Sultanpuri's Chura Liya touched a new chord with Bally Sagoo's version and so also did a host of old hits. But it wasn't a goldmine for the original creators. Says Monisha Thadani, export manager, Magnasound: "For remixes, permission is taken from the company that owns the copyright of that piece of music and a one-time ad hoc payment is made to them."

The IPRS has no answers to royalty collected for unresolved cases in which there is only one musical piece and too many directors—as in Muqabla which has A.R. Rehman, Anu Malik, and Rajesh Roshan as a few of its creative claimants. "This money goes into the reserve fund. After all, we are not the deciding authorities," says Naushad Ali, music director and chairperson of IPRS. "The Cine Music Directors' Association should look into this matter."

And if the IPRS fails to orchestrate the situation, what emerges may not exactly be the sound of music.