Chennai : The radio and television channels that play maestro Ilayaraja’s popular songs through the night may have to find an alternative.
In a statement to the media, the composer said that he holds the rights to all of his songs (he has composed songs for 1001 movies) and it is illegal to play his songs over FM, television channels and upload his music on popular video sharing sites.
“I hold the rights to all my songs. The FM channels and others have to buy the rights from me. I am planning to share the money with the producers who made the investment and with singers and lyricists,” he said.
He also believed that this would reinvigorate the debate on the intellectual property rights. “The court has dismissed the arguments of plaintiffs. I cultivated the land and I agreed to give my produce to the seller for a fee. But that doesn’t mean the seller can stake a claim to the coconut tree that I planted,” he said.
The composer said that those who want the rights must approach him or the Producers’ Council.
It may be noted that many FM Radio and Music Channel are majorly surviving on Ilayaraja hits as they are considered as evergreen melodies enjoyed by the listeners and viewers of all ages. The move comes as a big blow for many Radio and TV channels which were making big money out of the compositions of many music directors.
Ilayaraja also fired a legal notice to Director Shanker recently for using one of his erstwhile super hit song from Karagattakaran movie in shanker’s latest production ”Kappal”.
