19, Feb 2024
IPRS Launches the “My Music, My Rights” campaign
New Delhi, 19 Feb. 24: IPRS launches its nationwide campaign, “My Music, My Rights” around the auspicious occasion of Vasant Panchami. This initiative seeks to spark a national dialogue on the inherent value of music and the necessity of supporting the creators and their creativity for a sustainable music industry.
Music holds an integral place in India’s cultural tapestry, with references to it found in ancient texts. Tracing back to ancient times, India’s profound musical heritage is deeply rooted in its sacred texts. Brahma, the creator deity, is credited with deriving music from the celestial chants of the Sāma Veda, symbolizing the heavenly world itself. Alongside Brahma, deities such as Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer, are revered as patrons of music, underscoring its intrinsic connection to spirituality and culture. In the divine pantheon, Sarasvati, the goddess of music and knowledge, occupies a central role. Consort of Brahma, she is depicted as being well-versed in playing the Veena, a stringed instrument, and is revered as the embodiment of artistic expression and wisdom.
While India’s musical heritage is celebrated worldwide, music creators and those envisaging a full-time career in music often face significant challenges in earning a sustainable livelihood from their craft.
According to the recent study by EY titled ‘The Music Creator Economy: The Rise of Music Publishing in India’, India generates over 20,000 original songs annually contributed by 40,000 music creators, directly or indirectly generating over INR 12,000 crore in revenues each year. However, many in their career as a creator find themselves grappling with financial challenges. Out of 500 creators surveyed, 87% of respondents would have liked to make a living off their music alone, but only 60% were able to do so. A majority strongly believed that they needed to learn more about music production and how to better monetise their music. Only 56% of respondents had access to the equipment and infrastructure required to produce music. While India consumes more music per capita than the world average, it ranks 14th in recorded music revenues. In contrast, publishing revenues are ranked 23rd due to various issues like lack of legal clarity and consequently, low compliance. The significant disparity between the vast volume of music produced and the limited earnings of many creators within the industry, exacerbated by a widespread lack of understanding about the music business, underscores the urgent need to bridge this gap, a mission at the heart of the campaign.
The campaign “My Music, My Rights” seeks to bridge this divide by raising awareness and providing support to music creators across the nation. The report also highlighted that 33% of music released, comprises regional content, indicative of India’s diverse musical landscape. Yet, challenges such as accessibility, copyright awareness, and publishing rights hinder the rightful recognition and compensation of artists. Through a series of workshops, and seminars, both online and offline sessions, amongst other activities conducted nationwide, IPRS endeavours to address these hurdles and empower creators to navigate the intricacies of the industry effectively.
Commenting on the initiative, author, poet, actor, and film director Varun Grover, present at the event said, “As we gather to celebrate the rich tapestry of Indian music at the launch event ‘Raga to Rock’, it’s a poignant reminder of the profound impact music has on our lives and culture. This event is not just about songs and melodies; it’s a platform to ignite vital conversations about recognizing and supporting creativity and those behind the creation. Let’s harmonize our voices to elevate the value of music and nurture it as a cornerstone of our nation’s cultural identity.”
Sharing his views, Rakesh Nigam, CEO, IPRS mentioned, “As the music industry reaches new heights, songwriters, composers, and independent creators must be well-versed in their rights and equipped to build sustainable careers. At IPRS, we prioritize empowering music creators through education and expertise. Recognizing the rich musical heritage and the immense value of music in our lives, let’s acknowledge our collective responsibility as a nation to support, nurture and foster the music of our land towards a thriving and enduring future.”
The “My Music, My Rights” not only signifies a crucial step towards empowering music creators but also underscores the collective commitment to preserving and nurturing India’s diverse musical landscape for generations to come. This campaign is specifically designed for music creators and professionals in the industry, providing them with valuable knowledge and resources to navigate today’s evolving landscape of music and royalties.
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- By Rabindra
31, Oct 2023
IPRS is now ranked as the 4th largest Society by revenue in the Asia-Pacific region per CISAC Global Collection Report
In the recently unveiled CISAC Global Collections Report 2023, based on the 2022 collections data, the global music landscape experienced a resurgence, with total global royalties collected from creators reaching a record high of EUR 10.83 billion in 2022 – up by a remarkable 28% – as the world broke free from the pandemic. This growth was fueled by a rebound in live and public performances and a continuous robust expansion in digital revenue. The total sum of creators’ global royalties emanating from digital sources is a whooping EUR 4.1bn. In barely little over a decade, streaming has transformed life for CISAC members and the five million creators it works for.
According to the CISAC report, The Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. (IPRS) ranked as the 4th largest Society by revenues in the Asia-Pacific region and India ranked 23rd amongst the top 50 societies in Collections from Music globally, growing from the earlier 47th position in 2018.
The report reveals that IPRS collected Euro 68 million in revenue in 2022, a remarkable surge of 92.5% over the previous year. These results are indicative of India’s thriving music industry, displaying notable overall growth. It is also a result that corroborates the effort IPRS has put toward making this eye-popping turnaround a reality.
In India, the growth was attributed to the recovery in General Public Performance – Events / Background, Television broadcasting income revenue, and the increased digital revenues permeated throughout the year.
This highlights a positive development as the Society reduced its reliance on digital revenues, whose proportion of the income pool fell from more than 80% in FY 2021-2022 to 67.1% in FY 2022-2023. This diversification gives IPRS more stability and indicates its growing penetration in the market. The outcome was wonderful news for both the music industry as a whole and for the authors/composers and music publishers in particular. The digital revenue growth from 2019 to 2022 soared by an overwhelming 532.7%, reflecting India’s evolving music industry landscape.
The Government has also played a significant role in fortifying the creators’ rights and strengthening IPRS’s presence in the industry. While we are thankful for this support, we look forward to the authorities for adequate enforcement of the music licensing norms for better compliance.
Furthermore, IPRS has undertaken the significant responsibility of fostering the development of similar collection societies in neighboring countries. This commitment extends to the support and promotion of sister collection societies in countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, ensuring they receive the necessary attention during their initial stages of establishment.
Commenting on the same Mr. Javed Akhtar, Chairman of IPRS said, “IPRS, as a Music Copyright Society has been one of the strongest proponents of the rights of the music creator and publisher community in India. It has stood for credit and royalties for its members against odds of non-compliance and reluctance of music users to procure license for music consumption. It is indeed a matter of immense pride that IPRS has managed to garner the outstanding result of ranking the 4th largest Asia Pacific society by collection. The story of the toil behind this feat and the perseverance of our team members is a saga for all time and needs special mention. The age of music streaming has brought in a major shift in music consumption and has further intensified the role of collection societies like IPRS who must constantly tap in and be ever-receptive to a stream of continuously emerging revenue models.
With the scourge of the pandemic behind us, we at IPRS are grooming ourselves and the large Indian music community to be abreast with the opportunities and the challenges AI is bound to bring into the new mix of the music ecosystem in the digital age.”
Sharing his views, CISAC President Björn Ulvaeus, looks ahead to the future impact of AI on creators’ collections. “This year’s results show that the collective management system, despite all the enormous challenges it faces in adapting to digital, is still robust and effective. CMOs have the backs of the creators they serve and are now delivering more money to more creators than ever before. Fresh from COVID and the economic squeeze, what we now face is another serious, existential challenge – that of Artificial intelligence. AI will radically change the world for creators and the creative industry. It demands international leadership and a strong united front from all parts of the creative industry.”
Commenting on the CISAC Report, Mr.Rakesh Nigam, the CEO of The Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS), said, “We are incredibly proud of the IPRS’s remarkable achievement as the 4th largest Society by revenue in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the recent CISAC Global Collections Report. This recognition reaffirms our efforts in safeguarding the royalty rights of our creators. The significant growth, particularly in the digital domain, highlights the ever-evolving music landscape. Licensing agreements with major media entities and a notable increase in income from public performances of music have contributed to a substantial boost in revenues. The challenges in compliance remain an area of serious concern. In the changing music landscape inundated with challenges and opportunities, we remain committed to fostering a thriving environment for our creators and continuing our efforts to better India’s position on the global music stage.”
