In what came as a surprise to SP Balasubrahmanyam (SPB) and his fans across the world, the singer announced on social media that he can no longer perform songs composed by music director Ilaiyaraaja since he received a legal notice from the composer a couple days back.
The singer is currently on his ‘SPB50’ tour which started in August in Toronto.
In his Facebook post explaining the legal notice, SPB said:
The legal notice reportedly stated that performing the music director's songs without his permission is violating copyright laws and the singer will have to pay huge financial penalties and face legal action. SPB has sung in several movies composed by Ilaiyaraaja, including Mouna Raagam, Thalapathy and Thevar magan.
In the comments section of the Facebook post, the singer further clarified that he had received no communication from the composer prior to the mail.
He further added that he will responding legally to the notice. "Dear friends, I could have certainly talked to him, had he talked or sent a mail to me prior to our tour. But when I get a legal notice, either I have to respond legally, which I never want to, or, accept the law. I too have self respect. Please let us stop the futile discussion and move ahead. My intention of this information is to prepare the audience. I do not want my good friend Shri Raja inconvenienced. I do not want my sponsors and concert organisers to get hurt sentimentally and financially. Thank you," he wrote.
This is not the first time that Ilaiyaraaja has taken the legal route to claiming copyright on his songs. In 2014, the composer had in fact approached the Madras High Court, which ordered an injunction against five music companies from selling his compositions without his permission. Ilaiyaraaja had also warned radio stations and television channels against using his compositions without his permission.
He added that the royalty amount from his songs would be shared with the producer, singers, and lyricists of the film.
“Why can't a television channel pay just 25 paise each to the composer and the lyricist of a song when they use it for their shows? There are composers and lyricists who badly need some financial support,” Yesudas told The Hindu back in 2011.
"Rather than waiting for the government to bring in a law, I feel the television channels and others who use the songs should initiate a process to offer royalty,” he had said.
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