The Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. (IPRS), as you see it today is not an overnight creation. The Company has evolved and emerged through sunshine and shadows during the past many years. It is a chronicle of our evolution through the years, and we continue to grow and adapt to better serve our community.
Coming into existence on 23rd August 1969, the IPRS is a representative body of Owners of Music, viz. Composers, Lyricists (or Authors) and the Publishers of Music and is also the sole authorized body to issue licenses for the usage of Musical Works & Literary Music within India.
The task was onerous because the copyright situation in the country was unclear. Confusion over ownership rights prevailed. A lack of knowledge and information not only among the users of Copyright material but also the owners themselves was evident. The IPRS members themselves were also disinterested in the affairs of the company simply because they like the common man of the country, were unaware of the importance of copyright law and had little idea about the copyright business. Words like Copyright Ownership, Performing Rights and License Fees were hardly a part of the lexicon of both the Copyright owners and the general public. IPRS, thus had to wade through these difficult times and situations all the while managing to keep up the fight for a better Copyright environment and awareness in the country.
It was Mr. M. B. Srinivasan, a renowned Composer and active Trade Unionist from South India who mobilized the Members of the company persuading them to take full control of the Company management. He was ably supported by noted poet and lyricist Mr. Naqsh Lyallpuri.
IPRS 2.0
The year 2018 saw the IPRS being re-admitted as a Copyright society in the apex Paris based International confederation of societies of Authors and Composers ((CISAC) giving it the much-needed wider acceptance canvas as a pivotal global Copyright Society.
What followed since then have been strategic licensing deals with International Digital Service Providers (DSPS) and top-line players in the Indian music industry. These alignments threw open the floodgates for a stupendous revenue boost from INR 46 crore in the FY2017-18 to a 500% surge touching INR 314 Crore in the FY 2021-22, giving it the well-earned recognition as the fastest growing music collection society by the CISAC. Given its formidable all-weather support to the creator community, the IPRS went out on a limb during the pandemic to give away royalties along with other grants and aids over INR 210 Crores to the beleaguered creator community rattled by a lack of income generation opportunities. The projected revenue generation of INR 400 Crore and INR 300 Crores in royalty distribution for the FY 22-23, puts into perspective the meteoric growth of the IPRS in recent times.
With technology ushering in radical changes in the way music is consumed the IPRS, in line with its progressive philosophy, went on to make hefty investments in IT clearly favoring our members. This can be seen in the form of transparency, easy access to all personal information and work-data at the switch of a button. Member Registration work with the Digital First Method also became an easy undertaking with the introduction of result-oriented tutorials and training programs.
Unlike earlier, with our members there was a substantial jump in revenues triggered by increased frequency in royalty distribution. Royalty amounting to INR 535 Crores was disbursed in the last 3 years helping our beleaguered members tide over the difficult pandemic where work had come to a standstill for many.
Members were also empowered through a series of initiatives that included seminars, workshops, awareness drives, round the year training programs, online tutorial, grants and aids.
Programs like “Credit The Creator” to celebrate the artist ; licensing drives like ” Licence Liya Kya” for fair pay and fair play of music; ” Her Music”, to bolster the participation of women in music; “Learn and Earn”, a multicity member workshop; “Creative Shala” an intimate opportunity to interact with topline Composers and Authors, are staple fare the year-round with the IPRS.
The coming times will see a fully geared-up IPRS shinning amid emerging opportunities and challenges, adhering to the highest levels of commitment while remaining true to its core values of Solidarity, Equality, Resilience, and Transparency to serve the interests of its members and the music community at large.