Royalty payment for artistes from Jan.2020

The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education and Human Resources Development have recommended that a song aired from January 1 next year to 2022 should pay a royalty of Rs.30 while songs being telecast on TV should pay Rs.100.

The committee has also recommended that Rs.30 must be increased by Rs.50 after 2022 while the Rs.100 must be increased by Rs.250 after 2022.

The Committee has agreed to present the bill related to this matter in Parliament on January 3, 2020.

It was earlier proposed to pay Rs.10 for radio broadcasts and Rs.30 for television broadcasts. However, it was rejected by the committee.

The Chairman of the Sectoral Oversight Committee said if a song belonging to a particular artist is broadcast on YouTube without proper permission, it was possible for the SOC to complain to the International Administration Site.

It was revealed that if any channel does not pay a royalty to its original owners, legal action against such institutions can be taken according to the special gazette notice on intellectual property rights enacted on June 17, 2019.

The Committee suggested that a mechanism should be set up to regulate the payment process and urged artistes to keep the Intellectual Property Bureau informed prior to entering into any international agreement on their work as it would enable the Bureau to provide legal advice to the artistes on the legal background of the relevant agreements.

Telephone companies have also agreed to charge a customer fee of Rs.30 per download for a ringtone. The committee also suggested that at least 50% of the 30% paid by telephone companies to internet content providers should be given to the artistes. (By Ajith Siriwardana)