Music License
Music License is one of the ways for an artist to make money from their music. Business units do not have the authority to play music in the public places for any commercial purpose without acquiring music license. The Copyright Act, 1957 made it mandatory for all the cafes, restaurants, hotels, pubs, bars, that play pre-recorded music in their premises, to obtain music license
Copyright Society for Sound Recording which is “Phonographic Performance Limited” {PPL} issues music license to the restaurants and cafes who play music in their locations. In case, any business unit is willing to have singers in their premises for the singing or live concert purpose then business must approach “Indian Performing Rights Society” (IPRS) for the license.
What is IPRS?
IPRS (The Indian Performing Right Societies) Limited is an organization that permits all music users to use the copyrighted music and collect royalties against that copyrighted music. Thus, the fees received from IPRS customers will be distributed among all its members after deducting the administrative cost of IPRS.
The administration and policies of the company are controlled by its Council of Directors, which is elected by its members at every General Meeting. There is an equal representation of authors and composers in every region.
The Chairman of Governing Council is Mr. Javed Akhtar, an author member of the IPRS.
Benefits of Music License in India
- Music license helps the artists to use this as a platform for showing their talent to the world.
- Music license helps in enhancing the popularity of the song or event of the artist.
- As the creation of the artist will be copyrighted after obtaining this license, there will be no chance of stealing the creation of an artist.
- The third-party can easily download or subscribes the creation with the name of the artist. Hence, it is a good earning source for an artist.
- An artist can get a right to perform their work through public events or broadcasting.
The Documents Required to get Music License
- Personal details such as name, address, nationality
- Details regarding the business
- Detailed list of music type that you will play
- If you are into an LLP business, then it is necessary for you to submit certificate of incorporation
- PAN Card
- GST registration certificate
- Address Proof such as Electricity bill, driver’s license, voter ID card
Procedure for obtaining Music License in India through IPRS
- FOR BACKGROUND MUSIC
STEP-1 Selection of the Music License category
There are various categories for music license, so, the applicant has to decide whether in which type he wants to get a music license in India.
STEP-2 Create Account
After making the selection regarding the music license category, the applicant has to get himself registered on the site of IPR by selecting the type of music. He can create his account by filling basic details like Name, Address, Contact details etc.
STEP-3 Verification of contact details
After filling all the details, the candidate must verify his phone number and E-Mail ID.
STEP-4 Payment of Music License Fees
In the next step, the candidate must agree with all terms and conditions and need to pay the requisite fees online for the applied category of the music license. The fees can be paid online through the HDFC portal. And after completing the payment, the online receipt will be sent to the applicant through SMS or E-Mail.
STEP-5 Introduction Letter by IPRS
Once the applicant paid the license fees, then the IPRS will send an Introduction Letter to the applicant. The Introduction letter implies that the applicant is registered in the database of the IPRS.
- IN CASE OF LIVE PERFORMANCE CATEGORY
In the case of Live Performance, the applicant must provide additional information about the Venue of the live performance event. The applicant can even add more venues. The venue will be created against that applicant for further use of any event.
The following steps should be followed with respect to the venue:
- Venue creation in case of the event is being held, but the venue is not created on the website.
- Filling the details of venue form and submit it.
- Venue selection from existing venue list
- New venue for a new event
What are the Types of Music License?
-
Sync License
Sync License
Under this type, the music already create is synced with some visual media. A broad range of users such as TV commercials, advertising agencies, film studios, etc. holds music license.
-
Mechanical License
The purpose of this license is to make artist’s creation available to the general public in theform of CDs, publication of music online etc.
The artist having copyrights of their work is paid for the agreement signed by them to allow the distribution or recreation of their original work. A mechanical license is needed even for making a slight change in original components such as remix, adding own lyrics, changing anything of the original composition, etc.
-
Master License
The Master license is complex than other licenses. This license allows the holder of such license to use the pre-recorded version of the song in any audiovisual project but doesn't allow re-recording the song.
-
Public Performance License
This license is the most common form of a license issued for broadcasting an artist's copyrighted work. This license is obtained by the businesses playing music in their jukebox or any kind of public-performance such as concerts.
-
Print Rights License
This license indicates to the physical copy of the sheet-music that an artist has produced. It’s required when someone prints the sheet music compilation, /any time the sheet music of copyrighted work is re-produced.
-
Theatrical License
Theatrical licenses are very ordinary in the theater industry which is a very specific form of written permission. The license is obligatory any time a copyrighted work is executed on-stage in front of the audience.
Penalty against the Offenders?
Section 63 of the Copyright Act says that any individual who breaches the copyright or other rights is accountable for
- Detention for a period of not less than six months which may extend upto three years and
- Offender is liable to pay a fine of not less than fifty thousand rupees which may extend to two lakh rupees
As per Section 63, any individual who infringes the copyright or other rights is accountable for:-
- Detention for a period of not less than one year which may extend to three years and
- With a fine not less than one lakh rupees which may extend to two lakh rupees
Therefore, we concluded that without any Music License, no one could use the copyrighted music for their benefit. We’ve also discussed the various categories of this License offered by IPRS to all its customers. Before applying for any music license, be sure with the type of your application. The procedure for obtaining this license is not very straight-forward. Thus, the decision for hiring professionals would be appreciable to get a Music-License in India.
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