Rumpa Banerjee (Head Membership & Corporate Communication, IPRS), Prem Kumar Gupta (Raga Music), Dibyendu Lahiri (Asha Audio), Rakesh Nigam (CEO IPRS), Syed Ahmed (Composer), Upali Chattopadhyay (Composer and Singer), Satarupa Sanyal (Film Director, Poet, Social Activist), Debojyoti Mishra (Composer and Music Director) Deboprosad Chakraborty (Lyricist), Mayur Puri (Lyricist, Screenwriter, Actor), Rajkumar Roy (Composer and Singer), and Devjit Roy (Composer)graced the workshop organized by IPRS titled Learn and Earn.

Since its inception in 1969, the Indian Performing Right Society Limited (“IPRS”) has been concerned with the welfare of its members and has been protecting the rights of composers, songwriters, and publishers. Seeing talented creators suffer due to a lack of resources is heartbreaking. The lack of knowledge about their rights and opportunities is deeply disturbing, and it has prompted them to consider the consequences. To rectify the situation, corrective measures are required.

The IPRS, as a responsible Copyright Society, was acutely aware of the economic hardships that its members faced during the pandemic. In this rapidly changing music landscape, the Society also observed a plethora of doubts and questions among its members. A need to launch an initiative to inform, educate, and empower its members arose as a result of this concern. One of the IPRS’ main goals became reaching out to its members through this initiative. The IPRS decided to start a series of workshops for its members to kick off the journey in this direction. For IPRS members, the pan-India Workshops will be a great eye-opener, benefiting their creative journey and career.

Mayur Puri said “I do not believe that you need to be sad or financially challenged to create good music. You can be financially well-off yet write great songs. Your finances have got nothing to do with creating great works of art. We need to change this mentality so as to provide great opportunities for the musicians”.

Learn and Earn started successfully in Kolkata. This workshop was held after Chennai and Hyderabad, where the first of these workshops was held in early May.

Speaking at the event, Debojyoti Mishra said “We pay for everything but we do not like to pay for the music. We feel proud that we can download from different sources. It is due to this mentality that musicians do not get their share and they are financially challenged. This needs to be changed”.

IPRS’ Learn and Earn campaign is a fantastic way to raise awareness about the rights of creators and music publishers. Musicians in India’s music industry are unaware of the benefits and role of a copyright society, as well as the rights granted by the Copyright Law. Ignorance is no longer an excuse.
This initiative aims to raise awareness of music copyright and licensing while also assisting IPRS members in improving their knowledge and skills.

Video link of the event- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7mIL3qAxEs

Priyanka Dutta