Statutory Licensing Wrecking Havoc to Music Industry

News Desk, News Nation 360 : The annual general meeting of the Indian Music Industry was held in Kolkata, during which industry leaders spoke out with much vehemence about the damage that statutory licensing has caused the Indian music industry. Dibyendu Lahri of Asha Audio felt that nearly an archaic law compelled many labels in Kolkata to shut down or face closure. He said the pittance paid to private radio and TV networks brings in negligible royalties that are hardly sufficient to support Bengali music creation. Blaise Fernandes, President & CEO, IMI said that statutory licensing that began when private radio still was an infant in 2002 has not only outstayed its welcome but has lost utility. He said the law hurts music labels as much as it hurts the film industry since 90% of Indian music is film-based. Music labels pay enormous amounts of royalty fees to get the rights for film music soundtracks. He echoed a hope that DPIIT would finally wake up and take note of this huge malady by abolishing statutory licensing. MD Arjit Dutta of Priya Entertainments, an old stakeholder in the Film industry also echoed the call to abolish statutory licensing. He stressed the exact nature of the relationship between the Indian film and music industries. Songs, in India, play a very important role in the enrichment of the narrative of films. He stressed upon the need to preserve this heritage and protect the industry from the adverse effects of statutory licensing.