Lyricists-composers sign MoU for fair contracts from producers, music companies

In a landmark move aimed at addressing long-standing issues within the Indian music industry, lyricists and composers have come together to fight for fair contracts, credit and remuneration from producers and music companies.

The Screenwriters Association (SWA) general-secretary Zama Habib and the Music Composers Association of India (MCAI) president Vishal Bhardwaj signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday to foster better collaboration. There are about 2,500 members of MCAI and over 2,000 lyricists affiliated as members with SWA.

Bhardwaj, a noted filmmaker and composer, termed the move “landmark and historic”.

“Composers and lyricists play a pivotal role in music. Without a composer, one can’t make a tune, and without a lyricist, a song can’t be made. For me they are jism aur jaan (body and soul). It’s great that they are together,” Bhardwaj told PTI.

He also said it’s “important” for composers and lyricists to resolve larger issues pertaining to the music industry. “It’s very important for the two to come together professionally. They’ve become a bigger force. Without them, the Indian film industry would not exist because Bollywood is nothing without music and songs.

"A lot of injustice has happened to both music directors and lyricists. Earlier, there was a royalty issue, which was a long battle spearheaded by Javed Akhtar sahab,” the filmmaker-composer said.

Habib said both SWA and MCAI have sensible people who realise the urgency of addressing the issues. “The composers and lyricists have come together to announce that we are together now, and we are on the same page, and we will fight for our causes together whether it is credit or renumeration.

"This (MoU) is the first step in that direction. The main thing is to let the producers and music companies know that there’s a partnership between us. We would collectively talk to them, we are hopeful it will be welcomed,” Habib told PTI.

The MoU states that music directors and lyricists are “co-authors” as they collaborate in the creation of songs, and both are to be considered “primary artists” for credit purposes.

It also underlines that contracts of music directors and lyricists should be separately inked with producers, wherein they both determine their remuneration and streamline the artistic process and professional terms between music directors and lyricists.

Well-known songwriter Raj Shekhar said the MoU signifies the unity between composers and lyricists. "This MoU is a milestone in creative collaboration. It is not about composers versus lyricists; we are a team, we are together, and we both create music together. We both are incomplete without each other. I spend more time with a music composer than my family. We are a natural alliance. With this MoU, there will be fair credit, remuneration, contracts and more transparency,” Shekhar told PTI.

Veteran composer Milind of the Anand-Milind duo expressed his happiness over the MoU, which he believes is a fair deal for everyone in the music industry.

“Earlier, music composers would get a budget, which included remuneration for singers and lyricists, and the charges of hiring a studio, etc, all of it. Today, because of the MoU, producers will deal directly with the composers and lyricists separately, so there will be transparency and a fair contract. It’s a fair deal for all. I’m glad this has happened now,” Milind told PTI.

The event was attended by noted musicians, singers and lyricists, including Anu Malik, Varun Grover, Kausar Munir, and Mayur Puri, among others.

Going forward, Habib said the plan is to meet the producers and music companies to discuss their problems.

“We are going to come up with an agenda about the important issues that we are facing as song artists, which includes lyricists and composers. For instance, the name of the composer is there in the opening credits of a film but not of the lyricist, so do we not contribute? We will demand minimum remuneration for lyricists and composers for a song,” he added.