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In the previous article in this series, we explained the rights of lyricists and music composers who are responsible for creating the lyrics and music of a song. After the creation of the music and lyrics of a song, it is the singers and musicians who bring the song to life by combining their talents and abilities in creating a unified musical experience. The Copyright Act, 1957 (the “Act”), refers to musicians who participate in the live performance or recording of a musical composition as well as singers who deliver the song's vocals as "performers". The Act confers certain exclusive rights upon the performers known as the “performers’ rights”, which grant protection to the performers from unauthorised use or reproduction of their performances. These performers’ rights subsist for fifty years, commencing at the end of the year in which the performance is first made. In this article, we will take a look at the various rights made available to singers and musicians under the Indian copyright law.
Under Sections 38, 38A, and 38B of the Act, the singers and the musicians, as performers, are conferred with the following exclusive rights in respect of their performance or any substantial part thereof (whether live or recorded):
Performance Rights: Singers and musicians are granted the exclusive right to perform their work in public or authorise others to do so. These rights extend to live performances as well as recorded performances. Concerts, musical events, stage performances, and any other public appearance when a singer and/or a musician performs their work in real-time are examples of live performances, whereas music played in public areas such as restaurants, clubs, or on the radio are examples of recorded performances. Anyone other than the singer and/or musician of a song desirous of using or reproducing the singer’s and/or the musician’s performances in the song must obtain the singer's and/or the musician's consent or licence.
Recording, Distribution, and Broadcasting Rights: Singers and musicians are granted the exclusive right to make sound or visual recordings of their live performances, including reproduction and storage in any material form. This includes the right to distribute copies to the public, communicate the recordings to the general public, and sell or rent these recordings for commercial purposes. Under the Act, singers and musicians are entitled to authorise or prohibit the recording, communication, or distribution of their musical performances. They also have the exclusive right to broadcast or communicate their musical performances to the public, be it through radio, television, or digital platforms.
Economic Rights: Singers and musicians are entitled to receive royalties for the commercial exploitation of their recorded performances in a variety of formats. In India, royalties are collected and distributed by copyright societies and/or collective rights management organisations, which are established to ensure that artists are fairly compensated for the use of their performances in various forms.
Moral Rights: Singers and musicians have the right to claim authorship or to be identified as performers in connection with their respective performances. This ensures that singers and musicians are properly credited for their contributions to the performance while also protecting the integrity of their artistic expression. Further, they are also granted the right to restrain or claim damages in respect of any distortion, mutilation, or other modifications to their performances that may be prejudicial or harmful to their reputation. However, the mere removal of any portion of a performance for the purpose of editing, fitting the recording within a limited duration, or any other modification required for purely technical reasons will not be considered to be prejudicial to the singer’s and/or musician’s reputation in any event.
If singers and/or musicians provide their written consent for the inclusion of their performances in a cinematograph film, then the producer of such a cinematograph film may freely exercise the rights granted to performers under the Act, with the exception of the right to receive royalties and the moral rights of the singers and/or musicians. Furthermore, while singers and musicians can licence or assign the majority of their performers' rights to others, the moral rights conferred upon them under the Act cannot be legally waived or relinquished, maintaining a level of protection for singers and musicians even after their works have been created or performed. The courts of law in India have upheld this on several occasions.
In India, performers' rights, as established in the Act, are essential for protecting the contributions of singers and musicians to the world of music. Irrespective of whether or not their performances are recorded and shared with the world, these rights guarantee that singers and musicians receive proper recognition and compensation. Singers and musicians must be aware of their rights as performers in order to protect their creative works and maintain control over how their performances are presented to the public.
About the Author
Aakansha Sethi has been with MZD Legal Consultancy and practising law since 2022. Aakansha is a part of the films & television and general corporate teams at MZD Legal Consultancy. She can be contacted at aakansha@mzdlegal.in
About MZD Legal Consultancy
MZD Legal Consultancy is a boutique law firm in Mumbai, India. The firm was established in 2011 and comprises professionally qualified lawyers with varied levels of experience and expertise in specific practice areas. To know more, click here www.mzdlegal.in