Sonu Niigaam Ji, now in the copyright panel ...

The ten member panel formed by HRD Minister Kapil Sibal is undergoing changes and is in the process of being restructured. The ministry is including members from different realms to make it balanced.
In the last meeting that transpired on Tuesday, 2nd February, four new members- singers Sonu Niigaam Ji, Jagjit Singh and directors- Ken Ghosh and Madhur Bhandarkar were added to the panel...


T-Series head honcho Bhushan Kumar says, “The copyright amendment came as a shock for the industry as we were not consulted before proposing the amendment. We are in talks with the composers, lyricists addressing the limitations of the proposed amendments.”

Music composer Ram Sampath who was part of the earlier panel and is no longer a member mentions, “The panel has been re framed according to call taken by the ministry to add more writers, producers, composers.” Sampath has been replaced to include renowned lyricist Gulzar.
Says Sampath, “More members would be added to the panel as the consensus is to protect the musical heritage of India. The idea is to expand the ambit of members in the panel- it would now include musicians from the classical music, non-film genre and writers, musicians not essentially from the Bollywood sphere.”
The idea for a larger panel was mooted as the producers felt under represented and the members agreed amicably for expansion with balanced representation. Sources mention names like Shubha Mudgal, Ustaad Rashid Ali Khan, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma might sprung up to re frame the new panel...


Revealing the deadlock at the last meeting, Bhushan Kumar states, “We discussed the issue of non assignable rights with the composers and lyricists explaining them the drawbacks in adapting it. It would hinder revenue options for artists in far flung places as it is not feasible for labels to approach them every time they need to exploit the music.”

Terming the revenue share as unreasonable, Kumar says, “Music labels are not in a position to provide a revenue share to composers, lyricists without recovering the basic cost. Also, music labels invest in music looking at the star cast in the film and not essentially the lyricist and composer involved in the project. Without star pool, it is difficult to sell ringtones, music videos and the recovery is low.”