The New Nation - Internet Edition

Entertainment Report

When a song becomes a hit, most of the credit goes to the singer. The artiste becomes a celebrity overnight enjoying fame, glory and more. But the songwriter or the music composer often does not get the recognition they deserve. This has been a familiar story in our music industry until now. On Sunday, over 20 music composers and lyricists - including Ahmed Imtiaz Bulbul, Bari Siddiqui, Prince Mahmud, Kabir Bakul, Emon Saha, Ali Akbar Rupu, Liton Adhikari Rintu and Sahidullah Farazi - gathered at a press conference at National Press Club and called for an immediate change in the ongoing trend of overlooking the lyricists and music composers.

Speakers agreed that behind a successful song the first person who should be credited is the songwriter, who pens down the lyrics, then comes the music composer who creates a tune that embodies the essence of the song and finally a singer sings it. But when the song becomes a hit, the credit goes the other way around.

Discussants also said that a growing number of FM Radio stations play thousands of songs. Music companies bring out albums throughout the year. The TV channels broadcast many songs everyday. But the lyricists or the music composers do not get any royalty, even though their creations are being used to generate revenue.

"Songs are intellectual property. Creators of the songs hold all rights to them. So when they are used for commercial purposes without the permission of the lyricists and composers, or without paying royalties, that is a violation of 'intellectual property rights,' and in our country there is law safeguarding the rights," said Barrister KM Tanjib-ul Alam, a representative of the Dr Kamal Hossain & Associates.

"The rights of the songwriters and music composers should be ensured," said noted music composer Ahmed Imtiaz Bulbul. Sharing his personal experience, Bulbul said, "The song Shob k'ota janala khuley dao na, is a famous song. The song was written by the late Nazrul Islam Babu and composed by me. As the music composer, I didn't get more than 70 Taka for the song, despite the song having been aired on several TV channels." Speaking at the conference, Sheikh Sadi Khan said, "It is high time that the issue regarding the intellectual property rights is properly addressed; the ongoing trend of depriving the lyricists and composers should change."