Musicians have a very unpredictable shelf life and royalties work like pension for us, feels Amit Trivedi

The 38-year-old composer feels that lyricist Javed Akhtar’s appointment as chairman of the Indian Performing Rights Society will go a long way in ensuring financial security in the form of royalties, for musicians, who are always at risk of falling behind as artists.

Ever since lyricist Javed Akhtar became the chairman of the IPRS (Indian Performing Rights Society; a copyright royalty collection body formed in 1969), musicians across the country are hopeful of finally starting to get their royalties, feels composer Amit Trivedi. The musician, who has composed for the recent films Pad Man and Raid, says that things have already “improved” ever since the veteran lyricist was elected to the post in December last year.

Music composer Amit Trivedi has compared royalties for musicians to pension plans.

“Royalties work like pension for us, musicians. Even if in future, someone stops making music, he or she can still earn from their music through royalties. It’s like a sense of security that every musician must have. We hardly received anything in form of royalties. But, ever since Akhtar saab has taken over, things have improved massively. Thanks to him, things have started to fall into place, and musicians can feel that sense of security again,” he says.

The 38-year-old asserts that unlike other kinds of artists, career as a musician can be unpredictable, since one has to constantly battle changing trends and decreasing relevance. “No matter how good you are, as a musician your shelf life is very unpredictable. You never know when the sound can change overnight, and despite being a good musician, your music can fizzle out any day. So, from that perspective, having some kind of security is very important,” he explains.

That’s where live shows, according to Trivedi, become important. “Before royalties, the only other way to make money was through live shows, which are a great concept, because it provides a completely different experience altogether. But, because we hardly got any royalties, live shows became even more important,” he concludes.

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