The open disagreement between the legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam (SPB) and the genius composer Ilaiyaraja has caused an emotional outpouring of views and opinions from fans worldwide. People care deeply about a subject so personal as music, and when a controversy erupts involving great personalities, it is perhaps the perfect setting for such an avalanche. This issue is quite complex, and I am not going to pretend to be an expert on solving this.

Without taking sides on this particular issue, I wanted to share some thoughts in general. In fact, this may be a great opportunity to address and fix some longstanding business issues that have plagued the creative world in India for long, causing immense and frequent heartburn to artistes, musicians, composers, poets, authors, playwrights, actors, cinematographers, record labels, studios, and others in that ecosystem.

Even after 25 years of globalization, it seems as though, in the creative arena, the awareness on copyright laws is still quite low, the implementation quite indifferent, and the hypocrisy, quite high.

It is also ironical that some fans who don’t hesitate to upload and download stuff illegally from the Internet, or copy-paste something from somewhere, are outraged and are even pontificating on this topic! And despite their good intentions, some fans who do not fully understand the various components of the copyright process and the complexities involved therein, are giving their opinions, often with a lot of emotional hot air and very little logic. This is perhaps the sad and universal truth today, whatever the issue may be!

Historically, many in the earlier generation were not aware – or never bothered – about these legalities. They were so deeply immersed in the joy of their own creativity and many even perceived such issues as unnecessary distractions, or probably had nobody to work on it for them. Some were even quite content just to take a remuneration and think nothing about distributing and monetizing their much adored and widely acclaimed work. And due to various social, religious and cultural reasons, these issues were further complicated by a general aversion in Indian society to openly discuss legal affairs and money, for fear of being dubbed and ostracized as “business like” and “money-minded”. As such the culture of copyrighting one’s own work and standing up for one’s own rights was almost non-existent, for the most part. Also, in an industry fueled by black money, big risks, gambling instincts, larger-than-life personalities and egos, almost everything went (and still goes on apparently) on verbal agreements, trust, and taking care, ‘not to offend the powers that be.’

Although things may have improved over time, as per Copyright laws, the process to get a Copyright registration can still be quite time-consuming, as this flowchart may indicate. And in the “in the moment”, “adrenaline-rush” world of creativity, not many bother to go through a regulatory process to make sure everything is well documented and copyrighted properly.

From a policy maker’s point of view, the subjectivity around creative aspects can be quite confusing to draft a fair and balanced policy. From the point of view of creators, performers, technicians, studios, distributors, the sharing of credit and revenues can be quite complex to define and agree upon. Since some aspects of the Copyright Act of 1957, were becoming old and perhaps obsolete, there have been amendments in 2012 and rules enhancements in 2013. Hopefully, better collaboration, proper understanding, and wider adherence will improve things for everyone.

Even in USA, copyright is quite a complex issue, although it is a lot more rigorous in its implementation, and gets more scrutiny and respect from all the stakeholders.

Regarding SPB and Ilaiyaraja, people must ensure that they discuss and debate the issue without insulting either of them. Let us not forget that both are supernovas who have enthralled us for several decades and we must give them both, the due respect that they richly deserve. We ought to give these old friends the courtesy, time and space (and also support if needed) to help them resolve this issue amicably.

Perhaps a good way forward, is to ask them to come together along with wise and eminent policymakers, lawyers and judges for a wider public debate to ensure clarity and fairness, and also to help shape guidelines and policy for the benefit of future generations. That would certainly be a positive outcome from this teachable moment!

(PS: Photo courtesy – from Hindustan Times – and I don’t know who owns these and where they got these from!)