Ilaiyaraaja cannot claim sole ownership of work as ‘there are no songs without lyrics’: Madras High Court

10 days ago | 11 Views

Composer Ilaiyaraaja and private recording company Echo Recording Pvt. Ltd. are in a legal tussle over 4500 songs at the Madras High Court. Making a strong statement on Wednesday, the court stated that Ilaiyaraaja cannot claim sole ownership of the work, as numerous players come together to create a song, according to Live Law.

Madras High Court’s statement

According to the website, the court stated that all commercial transactions that Ilaiyaraaja has entered with music streaming platforms will be dependent on the outcome of his appeal over ownership of the songs he has composed. It was argued that while Ilaiyaraaja might be the owner of the musical notes, the entirety of the song belonged to the producer, especially after the composer received payment for his work. But Ilaiyaraaja's counsel countered that he continues to have rights to his songs irrespective of agreements with producers.

The website also reported that the court questioned whether Ilaiyaraaja could lay claim over the song, as the lyrics were penned by someone else. The judge pointed out that apart from the lyricist and composer, a singer also contributes to making a song. The court questioned what would happen if the lyricists also asked for ownership, stating that he could not be the sole owner of the songs. The matter was adjourned to June.

Ilaiyaraaja biopic

In March, it was announced that Arun Matheswaran will direct a biopic based on Ilaiyaraaja, starring Dhanush in the titular role. Dhanush launched the film poster in Chennai in the presence of Kamal Haasan and the composer. The movie will chronicle the life and times of Ilaiyaraaja, who has composed over 7000 songs for over 1000 films and performed over 20,000 concerts across the globe in a career spanning over five decades.

The movie, which will be released in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi, is backed by Connekkt Media, PK Prime Production and Mercuri Movies. Sriram Bakthisaran, C K Padma Kumar, Varun Mathur, Ilamparithy Gajendran and Saurabh Mishra are credited as producers.