Landmark moves aimed at solving long-standing problems within the Indian music industry, lyricists and composers gathered to fight for contracts, credit and rewards from producers and music companies.
Zama Habib, Secretary General of Screenwriters Association, and Vishal Bhardwaj, President of the Indian Music Composers Association, signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday to promote better cooperation. MCAI has approximately 2500 members and more than 2,000 SWA members are affiliated with members.
Famous filmmaker and composer Bhardwaj called the “landmark and historic” move.
“Compilers and lyricists play a key role in music. Without composers, there is no tuning, without lyrics, there is no way to write a song. To me, they are “Jism Aur Jaan”. It’s great that they are together,” Bhardwaj told PTI.
He said it is “important” for composers and lyricists to solve bigger problems related to the music industry.
“For both, it’s very important for professionals to come together. They have become a bigger force. Without them, the Indian film industry wouldn’t exist because without music and songs, Bollywood wouldn’t exist. There’s a lot of injustice happening to music directors and lyricists. Earlier, there was a franchise issue, a long battle led by Javed Akhtar Sahab.”
Zama Habib said both SWA and MCAI have wise people who realize the urgency of solving these problems.
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“Compilers and lyric poets gathered together to announce that we are now together, and we are on the same page, whether it’s credit or rebirth, we fight for our cause. This is the first step in that direction. The main thing is to let the producers and the music company know that there is a partnership between us. We will talk to them collectively and hope it will be welcomed.” SWA Secretary General told PTI.
The MoU states that music directors and lyricists are “co-authors” when writing songs, both of whom are considered “main artists” for credit purposes. It also stressed that the contracts of music directors and lyric poets should be signed separately from the producers, where they both decide their compensation and simplify the artistic process and professional terminology between music directors and lyric poets.
Famous songwriter Raj Shekhar said the memorandum of understanding represents unity between composers and lyricists. “This MoU is a milestone in creative collaboration. It has nothing to do with the composer and the lyricist; we are a team, we are together, we all make music together. Without each other, we are not complete. I spend more time with music composers than my family. We are a natural alliance. With this MoU, there will be fair credibility, compensation, contracts and greater transparency.” Shekhar told PTI.
Anand-Milind Duo’s senior music composer Milind expressed his happiness to the Memorandum of Understanding, which he believes is fair to everyone in the music industry. “Earlier, music composers will be awarded a budget and will be paid by singers and lyricists, and include allegations of hiring studios, etc. Today, due to the MoU, the producers will deal directly with composers and lyricists, so there will be transparency and fair contracts. It will be fair for all. I’m glad this has happened,” Milind told PTI.
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Famous musicians, singers and lyric poets participated in the event, including Anu Malik, Varun Grover, Kausar Munir and Mayur Puri among others.
Moving forward, Habib said the plan is to meet with producers and music companies to discuss their issues. “We will put forward an agenda that deals with important issues we face as song artists, including lyricists and composers. For example, the composer’s name is in the opening ceremony of the film, but there is no lyricist’s name, so don’t we contribute? We will ask for a minimum reward from the song and composer to make a song,” he added.
