Click to play videoMumbai: Hotels will now have to start facing the music quite literally. The music industry is serving notices to them demanding royalty for the songs they play.
Music to set the mood to party hard, however, this New Year's Eve many hotels may not play several popular tunes at their year-end parties, due to the warnings from the music industry.
"We have sent notices to most of the hotels in the country playing music for commercial purposes. They have to pay royalty for the music they are using. We are also going to send out vigilance squads on December 31st to check on hotels that are flouting regulations and cases will be filed against them,” says Vipul Pradhan, CEO, PPL, IMI.
Music industries are warning hotels against playing songs without a valid public performance license. Phonographic Performance Limited, affliated to the Indian Music Industry, has already sent legal notices to hotels like JW Mariott and Leela Kempenski in Mumbai, City Park and Nirula's in Delhi, and other hotels in Kolkata, Goa, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore. The industry says playing songs at parties without a license amounts to copyright infringement.
"If they are making money on my music, it is only fair that my singers and musicians make money on it. You must understand that on just one day, which is December 31st, these hotels across India make close to 2000 crores. Even a 5% would mean 150 crores," says Gautam Sarkar, Sa Re Ga Ma India Ltd.
And while a few hotels have acted quickly and applied for licenses, many may still enter the New Year on an illegal wicket.
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