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Yet another tussle appears to be brewing within the Malayalam film industry over ownership of music rights, which has become a lucrative source of revenue in the digital era. The Kerala Film Producers’ Association (KFPA) is set to cease collaborating with music composers who seek rights for film albums. The producers’ association is currently drafting an agreement for music directors which would include clauses to this effect. Speaking to The Hindu, B. Rakesh, secretary of the producers’ association, said that the move was necessitated by demands from some music directors for sole right of the music albums. “We have already arrived at agreements with other technicians. The agreement with music directors will be finalised soon. The association will ask producers to stop working with composers who demand music rights. Only a handful of new music composers have started demanding rights. These music albums turn out to be hits only because we are spending crores to make films with popular stars. If they can churn out hits in their individual capacity, why not release independent albums? Henceforth, the producers will hold the full rights for the music album,” said Mr. Rakesh. The other sideHowever, music director Deepak Dev, who is currently composing for the upcoming film Empuraan, begged to differ. Though he has not yet demanded music rights, choosing instead for proper remuneration, he said that new-age composers might be demanding rights because they were not paid in proportion to the revenue that their popular songs were generating. “If the producers are willing to provide the remuneration that the stars are demanding, why can’t they provide the same to technicians? Music should also be treated as an important element in the popularity of many of these films. Unlike in the past, now music generates a lot of revenue. I haven’t yet demanded rights for music because I have got the remuneration that I wished for, but that might not be the case with everyone. Music directors also might want to keep the rights if they want to release reworked versions of their tracks in other languages in the future,” Mr. Dev told The Hindu.Considerable returnsIn recent years, major music labels have started investing heavily in Malayalam cinema. With various music and social media platforms, including Spotify, YouTube, and Instagram reels opening up new sources of revenue, the music from popular films also ensure considerable returns over a period of time. Producers have now realised the revenue-making possibilities of having the ownership of the music in the short as well as longer term and are keen to ensure that composers demanding rights does not become an industry practice. Many legendary music composers of Malayalam, from Baburaj to Raveendran, have struggled financially in their later years, a situation which might not have had happened had they owned the rights to their songs. Published – February 16, 2025 09:03 pm IST
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