‘Praise isn’t enough, pay royalties’: Rakesh Nigam, CEO of IPRS

In the last decade the consumption of music has grown over ten times.
Renowned songwriter Mayur Puri. ( File Photo)
Renowned songwriter Mayur Puri. ( File Photo)

HYDERABAD: In the last decade the consumption of music has grown over ten times. The monetisation has not gone up by that rate. For this reason, the Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS) launched the ‘Learn and Earn’ initiative at Katriya Hotel, Somajiguda on Friday. The society invited its members from Tollywood and its Board of Directors, including renowned musicians like lyricists Chandrabose and P Gopalakrishna, who spoke about protecting the rights of composers, songwriters, and publishers.

The initiative is planned to bring the community of music artists together to create awareness of music copyright and licensing while helping the community to upskill through knowledge and know-how. The artists highlighted how radio, hotels, restaurants, and pubs are using the music to create ambiance but are not paying any royalties to artists. “We all praise the musicians, listening to them on the radio, or at a hotel, but, the praise is not enough. Artists also deserve small royalties,” says Rakesh Nigam, CEO of IPRS.

According to lyricist P Gopalakrishna, IPRS ensures the ownership of the artists on their work. “IPRS has also fetched me ten times the remuneration for the songs I wrote in the past,” he said at the event. “We must make the artists happy with praises but also, rich and to so that they have the motivation to work — and that’s IPRS’s mission. Today, the music industry is getting more and more decentralised every day, it is imperative for all of us at IPRS to step up our diversity and inclusion initiatives. ‘Learn and Earn’ is designed to empower our members to not just survive but thrive in this creator economy and we hope to see thousands of music makers benefit from this,” concluded renowned songwriter Mayur Puri.

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