NEW DELHI: The Human Resource Development Ministry is to consider the various demands of the music and film industry and avoid any confrontation on the issue of copyright of music.
This was conveyed by HRD Minister Kapil Sibal in a meeting with representatives of the music and film industry delegation yesterday in connection with their objections to the recent announcements by the Copyright Board.
Led by Film Federation of India President T P Aggarwal, the delegation also included SuperCassettes Vice-President Neeraj Kalyan, representatives of the Association of Motion Pictures and TV Programmes, Ramesh Taurani of TIPS, producers K C Bokadia and Mukesh Bhatt, and some representatives from Kolkata and south India.
The meet related to the proposed amendment to the Copyright Act that allows lyricists, music composers and writers to seek royalty for their services from film producers.
Sibal has invited the delegation to meet him again in the middle of the month with a detailed memorandum so that this can be discussed in detail within the Ministry and by the Government.
Earlier in December, the film industry had deferred its move for a two-day strike from 6 January after it was assured the Union Government was prepared to consider its demands on the Copyright amendments.
Aggarwal told radioandmusic.com: "We are not asking for any subsidy or for any other kind of favour. We were only seeking our legitimate right.We are ready to share the royalties with the concerned parties but we can not make them our partners."
But he said the industry was determined to resolve the issue and would not be pacified by mere assurances.
The film industry is opposed to the proposed Copyright Amendment Bill 2010 that mandates producers to share 50 per cent music royalty with lyricists and composers.
According to senior filmmaker L Suresh, the proposal would affect the selling of films to distributors and exhibitors.
A Parliamentary Standing committee in its recommendations on the bill, tabled in Parliament last month, has said that producers should give authors, lyricists and composers 50 per cent royalty for a film.
Earlier in December, SuperCassettes had said that the film and music industry is not averse to sharing 12.5 per cent with the authors and composers after recouping the minimum guarantees paid by the Music labels, particularly as the Authors/Composers are paid handsome advance remuneration for their contributions and in some instances some of the composers are paid as high as Rs.12.5 million for composing film music.
Noting that various industry bodies/individuals are deliberating on the implications of the proposed amendment to the Copyright Act at different forums, Supercassettes Chairman and Managing Director Bhushan Kumar had said in a statement in response to media reports: 'It is a forgone conclusion that if the proposed amendments and the Parliamentary Committee report are implemented without taking into account the ground realities of our industry, there will be far reaching consequences for the entire industry".
Supercassettes Vice-President Neeraj Kalyan had added that the proposed intervention by the state by bringing in sweeping changes to the legislature is discriminatory, counter productive to the Industry and will lead to placing of unprecedented check on freedom of trade in the history of Independent India.