MUMBAI: At the 6th MixRadio Music Connects, music composer Andrew Mackay moderated a panel that included BMI Executive Director Europe and Asia- Brandon Bakshi, composer- Tuomas Kantelinen, international singer- Natalie Di Luccio, The Royalty Network President Frank Liwall and PRS for Music Membership Development Manager- Jatanil Banerjee. The discussion, called ‘The East-West Connect, provided insights into how Indian musicians, composers and publishers can succeed abroad and how their foreign counterparts can find success here in India.

Bakshi said that publishing is the key to generate revenue from music license. “Registration and documentation of original composition of artistes is the key to music licensing. If someone uses music of another artiste in a video, if the musician has registered their music, they can claim their share,” said Bakshi. Speaking on royalties for the artistes, Di Luccio said, “It does not matter if I am not getting royalties. If I have sung for a film, my voice will be on the film’s music for life, though there should be a legal system that provides artistes with their royalties.”

Liwall said that the foundation for making Indian music available for sampling in the international market was done by them. “We would send out samplers to major hip-hop labels in the US and ask them if they would want to sample Indian music in their music. This in turn, generates new copyrights, and this goes into sampling new music with music supervisors,” said Liwall.

However, music supervision does not have the same market value in India as it does in the US. “It is possible for Indian music to be featured in international films, but not television.”

Kantelinen also revealed that music maestro AR Rahman wanted him to take on the sole responsibility of composing for the upcoming Guru Nanak epic. The film will hit theatres late next year, although the music is ready.