#ImagineLifeWithoutMusic – IPRS’s thought-provoking campaign this festive season

The Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. (IPRS) - At the advent of the festive season, India’s only registered copyright society representing the authors, composers, and music publishers has launched a thought-provoking campaign #ImagineLifeWithoutMusic.

The campaign intends to draw attention to Fair Pay and Fair Play of Music. Music is an integral part of our lives, and as we grow up, it finds new meaning and relevance. It adds to the fervour when we celebrate and buoys us up when we feel low. Indian ceremonies and milestone moments are incomplete without music! According to Nielsen, 94% of online consumers in India listen to music and 71% of them say that music is an important part of their lives.

The last few months of the calendar year in India are punctuated with a slew of events and festivals. Celebrations through congregations of family and friends are a common sight. It is only expected that music is one of the primary and popular means of entertainment during these ecstatic moments. Emanating from every nook and corner around the country, music consumption at these celebrations is sky-scraping. Resonating with this, IPRS sets sail with its campaign to make us ponder what our life would be like without music and instil a sense of responsibility toward building a sustainable future for music and its creators.

The campaign will emphasize the relevance of music and how mundane our life and special occasions would be without it. IPRS stands for protecting its members’ body of work and their creation. Today, the copyright society has a robust domestic repertoire of over 1 million songs.

As music is erroneously presumed to be free and readily available for consumption, IPRS is constantly working towards bringing a mindset change and going all out to right this wrong. IMI-IFPI Digital Music Study 2021 reveals that almost half of the survey respondents felt that they did not need to pay as anything they wanted to listen to was available for free.

Talking about the initiative, Sameer Anjaan, renowned lyricist and IPRS Board member said, “Even beginning to imagine life without music is one of the scariest thoughts one could have. How would it be possible to be deprived of the very aural oxygen that makes us savour every memorable moment? It is music that makes them all the more extraordinary.”

Music encompasses our lives since the moment we set ourselves afoot the planet and remains an indelible part all through our journey. The importance of life in music cannot be overstated. As creators of music, we are overwhelmed by its gentle hold over us and give it our everything, Imagination, Thinking, Skill, Time, and Energy. In fact, it would not be stretching the truth to say that as music creators we give it our life. This sojourn has to continue unabated for a better, happier, more complete world around us. It would be our best legacy for the coming generations.”

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Rakesh Nigam, CEO, IPRS added, “We are happy to announce our new campaign, #ImagineLifeWithoutMusic to create awareness and highlight the importance of music in our lives and institutions that depend on music to run their business. We want to encourage music users and organizers to purchase a music license for playing music at events and commercial outlets. Hope we realise that, like other things in our daily life, we need to pay for music too. Music is more than an industry. It is a cultural powerhouse. Though music creators have embraced this profession through passion, we cannot retain talent if we do not pay their rightful dues. To deny royalties to the creators will ultimately weaken the cultural fabric of the nation. We take this opportunity to thank our Fair Music Partners for their support in upholding music licensing and ensuring those behind the music get their rightful dues."

According to the EY-FICCI report, the Indian music segment grew by 24% in 2021. About 90% of revenues were earned through digital means, though most of it was advertising-led, with only 3 million paying subscribers. An overwhelming majority of people still refrain from paying for the music they listen to.