Veteran Producer and actor K Rajan has expressed the opinion that the producer of a film is the rightful owner of the music and songs in it. Rajan’s observation comes in the wake of a bitter legal battle being fought between music director Ilaiyaraaja and three companies over the copyright for the entire musical work and sound recordings of 30 South Indian feature films from the 1980s for which Ilaiyaraaja had scored music.
K Rajan Lighting A Lamp At The Launch Of The New Film Kuttram Thavir
Well known producer and Distributors’ Association President K Rajan has expressed the opinion that the music and the songs in a film were the property of the producer producing the film.
Music Belongs To Producer
Speaking after the inaugural function of a new film titled Kuttram Thavir, Rajan said, ” The songs in a film — in fact the entire music of the film, belongs only to the film’s producer. It is the producer who listens to a story, talks to the director, then hold talks with heroes and heroines and appoints a music director for a film.
“Then, we (producers) make arrangements for songs that the directors require. The directors explain the situations for the songs. It is the director who gets the tune for his story’s situation. What the director says, the music director does. We get 10 tunes. Sometimes, we have got upto 25 tunes.
“It is like you having a mason build your home. The mason builds, but we pay him wages on a daily basis for what he does. Just when the building is completed and the housewarming ceremony is being held, if the mason says, “I built this home and therefore this house belongs to me,” it appears foolish. Similarly, music directors claiming that the music of a film belongs to him is wrong. We have already paid them wages. The music and songs belong to the producer.”
Ilaiyaraaja‘s Dispute With Three Firms Over Copyrights For Music
Rajan’s observation comes in the wake of the legal battle going on between music director Ilaiyaraaja and the Indian Record Manufacturing Company Limited (INRECO), Agi Music Sdn Bhd and Unisys Info Solutions Private Limited over the copyrights of the music and sound recordings of 30 south Indian films from the 1980s for which Ilaiayaraaja had scored music.
