Party music under attack

With music industry deciding to play watchdog on December 31, hotels and pubs across metros which don't have song licences may be dragged to court, fined

The music police are ready to spoil your new-year party.

Tivoli Garden Resort, Tonic, Parikrama Restaurant, Hotel City Park, RPM Max, Qashqai, Baci, DLF Promende (DLF Service Ltd.) are to wake up for a huge hangover after the party is long over, as the Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) the apex licensing arm of the Indian Music Industry (IMI) plans to take action against the restaurants and pubs for playing non-licensed music on December 31.



The PPL list of violators also include Tabula Rasa, Polka Restobar, Blanco, Tao Lounge bar, Ansal Plaza Mall Management Co., Black, Addiction, Lovely Obsessions, & Reverb for not acquiring license to play copyright music in the parties lined up for the new year. Notices have been issued to all the venues that have not paid the requisite music license fee. A PPL team of more than 150 people will be attending these parties to record and collect evidence so that legal action can be pursued.

Legal notices have also been issued to hotels and pubs in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Jaipur, Himachal Pradesh, Pune, Haryana, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Goa and Bhubaneswar.

Vipul Pradhan, CEO, PPL said: "New Year parties attract people promising them a good time through a combination of entertainment, food and beverage. A significant component of the sum charged from the customers is for music - an integral element of entertainment. Therefore, the music companies whose sound recording is regularly used have a right towards claiming their due because their product is getting consumed too."

Under the statutory sanction of section 35 in the Indian Copyright Act, playing commercial music in public without paying the requisite license fee is an offence liable to contempt of court. Section 35 grants exclusivity to PPL to issue licenses to hotels/ pubs for playing music during the events in their respective premises. The tariff for the same is calculated on the basis of the number of hours the music is to be played and the number of people expected to attend the event.

"Musical nights and customized New year events rake in huge revenues for pubs organizers. A year ending event cannot be imagined without music! Yet, when it comes to paying for the commercial use of music, the event organizers chose to evade the license fee," said Sowmya Chowdhury, Country Head-Events, PPL.
Every year pubs/ hotels target revenues with customized Christmas and New Year packages but are reluctant to pay a nominal license fee (which varies depending on the number of hours for which the music is played) to PPL and thus flouting the norms and eating into the royalties of the music labels. Disc Jockeys too need to abide by PPL guidelines if they continue to play music without paying the license fees.

While some of the hotels and restaurant, which have got the notice claims that they will not be playing any music while some find license just for a day too costly. "PPL is completely a fraud body which is extorting money on the name of license I find it really unethical to pay Rs 35,000-45,000 just for a day we have challenged the notice and we have won the case."

While the officials at Hotel City Park claim that they don't need license as they have live band. "We have not taken PPL license as we'll not be playing any music but we'll have live band with special buffet. So we are not violating any law," said Jhitendra Bharadwaj Food and Beverages manager Hotel City Park.