IPL inaugural's music copyright issue settled

The row between an official body that works to protect the rights of artists and the organisers of the Indian Premier League's (IPL) opening ceremony over payment of fees for music usage at the programme was resolved ahead of the event on Tuesday.

"We are in receipt of the licence fee for the IPL opening ceremony and the matter has been resolved," Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. (IPRS) regional head Avishek Basu told IANS on Monday.

Basu, however, refused to disclose the amount, saying it was confidential but he said a huge concession has been given to the IPL organisers.

The IPRS recently slapped legal notices on the IPL Governing Council, the West Bengal government and the event managers, claiming they are "reluctant" to pay fees for playing music.

Bollywood stars Farhan Akhtar, Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Pritam and Hrithik Roshan are set to light up the ceremony which will take place here after a gap of two years at the state-run Salt Lake Stadium.

IPRS has around 3,500 authors, lyricists, music composers, publishers, and film producers as members, and is responsible for issuing licenses to those playing music in public or commercial establishments and then distributing the fees as royalty among members.

The notices were sent to organisers (Encompass Events Pvt. Ltd.) of the opening ceremony, IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal, and CEO of the stadium for payment of 'Performance Licence (Royalty) Fees' for playing music as per the provisions of the Copyright Act 1957.

Musicians like A.R. Rahman, Anu Malik, Gulzar, Bappi Lahiri, Ravinder Jain, Jatin Pandit (of duo Jatin-Lalit), Shravan Rathod (of duo Nadeem-Shravan), and IIayaraaja are members of IPRS.