Interview with Rakesh Nigam, CEO IPRS – IPRS
  
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Interview with Rakesh Nigam, CEO IPRS

The music industry was still coming to grips with the unprecedented losses due to the pandemic over the last year. Not just the music industry but also the events and entertainment world have gone for a toss. The music sector particularly has been hit hard with the loss of revenue for live performances. The en masse postponement and cancellation of live shows, weddings, sporting events and the closure of commercial establishments have put the industry in a quandary.

To support its author and composer members, The Indian Performance Rights Society (IPRS) announced the release of an emergency relief fund, amounting to Rs 2.5 crores.

In a conversation, Rakesh Nigam, CEO, IPRS dwelled on the announcement, cleared the air about eligibility, the near future and the impact the second wave can have on the music industry.

IPRS has been at the forefront of helping its members, be it for collecting their unpaid dues, ensuring timely payments and protecting their rights. For the second time in 2 years, IPRS has now come to their aid with the release of an Emergency Relief Fund. Do dwell about this significant development.

The pandemic hit us severely in April 2020 and even in this April it has struck us. Last year too we had released a compensation fund for our members. A lot of our members might not be well established but may not reach out for help. So we had released a certain amount to help them sustain. We don’t claim to be doing a great deed but it is a humanitarian one. How much can the government do? Every corporate and individual has to do their bit to help those in need. IPRS decided to do its bit and at least help out its members. We are a unique society in a way that IPRS was established by its members and for its members.

Is there a laid process which IPRS follows while disbursing the grant?

There is no process but there is an eligibility criteria. Some of our members are better established than others. In other countries a member is eligible only if person has been a member for at least 2 years and hasn’t received more than 500 pounds as royalty in the previous year. We have reduced the membership requirement to just 1 year and royalty earned to 1 lakh rupees in the previous year.

But there has to be a criteria. Even when the government distributes funds it follows a protocol. Not everyone can be eligible. As a country or as a society, we have to take care of the less fortunate.

The music industry is in a way better prepared now than last year to combat the pandemic. Do you think this will be useful in lessening the negative impact?

The pattern of music consumption has changed over the year. Only the digital side of business is booming while other sectors like public performance etc have been hit badly. Reeling under a near complete lockdown, the live music events industry stands to lose billions in revenue. Establishments, which generated royalty, have shut down. Overall the entire economy has been hit so obviously the music industry will suffer too. If the pandemic would not have hit, the music industry would have surely witnessed more growth.

Things ahead are unclear and presumptions are flying in all directions. How do you foresee the near future of the music industry?

This year there might be a slight growth if at all. There is not going to be any major growth as most of the segments of the music industry might not reopen before September. This year the impact will be much severe than the previous year. People brazened it out last year with a hope for better things this year. Just when things were getting normalised we have received a major jolt. People are also scared now and have limited their spending as they are unsure of the future.

Due to the pandemic, losses are imminent. How much of an impact will it have on the royalty collections? How can the collection societies and artists tide over this difficult time?

It is too early to comment. We have to wait for a quarter of the financial year to dwell on it. The sector is definitely under stress but we can predict how big the impact will be only after June.

The Indian Performance Right Society (IPRS), is the sole authorised body to issue licences for usage of musical works and literary music. It collects royalties from music users, for and on behalf of IPRS’ members i.e. authors, composers and publishers of music. Royalty collected is distributed amongst members after deducting IPRS’ administrative costs.