ADITI SARAWAGI
Music Laws in India
It is extremely easy to download a song off a torrent
website or a random Google search. What one forgets is
the innumerable hours, days and weeks an artist takes to
perfectly fine tune a song. Not to forget the years he has spent
learning and honing a skill which not many have and then
struggled to make a name for himself. The ease with which
this is possible makes one wonder if the Government of India
is doing anything to safeguard the hard work of the country’s
artists and musicians.
So often you hear music by a popular artist in a public place,
but not many are aware that the owners of the public space
need a license to be playing it because only the owner of
the copyright can perform or play the work in public. The
ownership or copyright of a song is usually divided into three
aspects. The lyrics of a song is a literary work owned by the
lyricist; the music is owned by the composer and the song
as a whole is owned by the producer of the recording or the
recording label.
The IPRS, founded in 1969 is the sole authority to issue
licenses to users of music. Royalties are also collected
by them on behalf of its members i.e. the lyricists, music
directors and sound producers. The Society is a non-
profit making Organization and is a Company Limited by
Guarantee and Registered under the Companies Act, 1956.
IPRS has also been granted Registration by the Central
Government in 2017. Copyright protection lasts for the
lifetime of the copyright holder and sixty years after that and
performance rights for 50 years.
One major law protecting musicians’ interests is The
Copyright Act, 1957 which was amended and came into
effect from 21st June, 2012. The amendments are in line with
India’s international commitments. The amendments to the
Copyright Act in 2012 has given better ownership control to
songwriters, composers and musicians working in the Indian
film industry, more than the producers and record labels.
The revisions declare the song creators as owners of the
copyright and has made royalty payment