Celebrating 55 Years Of IPRS: India’s Soundscapes As Bridges Between Cultures

IPRS, Indian Performing Rights Society, hosted a one of its kind landmark event aimed at elevating emerging Indian musicians on the global stage in association with MusiConnect India. With a legacy spanning over five decades, IPRS has tirelessly worked to protect and uplift the rights of Indian musicians. Now, with Soundscapes of India: Gateway to the World, they served as a steppingstone for every Indian musician towards a global stage. The event was designed to highlight the growing opportunities for Indian musicians in the global market.

As the event centered around two key elements: a conference and a showcase featuring 16 extraordinary Indian bands, Mayur Puri, Indian lyricist-screenwriter-director and a Board Member of IPRS, commented, “Soundscapes Of India was an incredible experience packed with introductions to inspiring journeys of legendary music creators as well as invaluable insights into the music business.”

The three cohesive days of the event brought together a unique confluence of Indian musical talent, industry leaders, domain experts, and trailblazing creators from the music industry.

With 11 delegates representing 13+ World Music Festivals such as the Rainforest World Music Festival (Sarawak, Malaysia), Playtime Festival (Mongolia), World Music Festival (Bratislava), Visa for Music (Morrocco), Sziget Festival and Le Monde Dans Mon Village (Hungary), and many more in attendance, it provided Indian musicians with a rare and invaluable opportunity to gain exposure in foreign markets, showcasing their talent in front of international delegates representing prestigious festivals from across the globe.

Marking a grand opening, the event was inaugurated with pomp by our very own popstar, the Golden Man of India, Daler Mehndi, who was also the first speaker, where he shared his life of struggles and how he made it into a success.

The event continued to prove fruitful, with over a dozen experts from varied fields including Indian music, law, media, international festivals, contributing to the discussions. They not only highlighted the challenges but also presented pathways for growth and cross-border collaborations. The conference was a melting pot of discussions on various crucial topics in the Indian and global music industry, covering diverse subjects like “Amplifying India’s Presence on the Global Music Stage”, “Navigating IP Rights”, “Digital Resonance”, and more.

Kaushik Datta, Founder President - MusiConnect Asia, Founder Director - MusiConnect India, and Vice President - Global Music Market Network, pointed out that, “The Indian music is so diverse. People are aware of the Bollywood music and the commercial part of the culture has been getting out, but in terms of folk, traditional, and independent music they are so rich and diverse, yet internationally people are suffering from knowing who are the best.”

We had Mr. Abhay Kumar, Deputy Director General ICCR, for a fireside chat discussing 74 years of ICCR: Elevating Indian Music on Global Stage, addressing the very problem Kaushik Datta mentioned, to which Mr. Abhay responded saying, “We have played a key and pivotal role introducing Indian music to the world. And taken more than 100,000 songs to the rest of the world. But now, the sheer numbers are so mind boggling that the government cannot do it alone. Why can’t there be private organizations to support artists? I feel partnership between private and government organizations could be the way to go.”

The next two days were even more exciting, where all of us including the international delegates, got to witness the originality and diversity of Indian music. The 16 carefully curated bands brought different flavors from different parts of India, comprising of Indian classical, folk, hip-hop, jazz, swing, you name it, they played it with passion and perfection.

Kaushik Datta, took the opportunity to add, “In some ways some artists who are touring are extraordinary but on the other hand, there are a lot more waiting to be discovered. ‘Soundscapes of India’ is an event which is not only opening unsighted doors for the artists but is also creating an opportunity for the international delegates to hear in a concentrated way more music they can come across randomly on their own.”

But is creating and putting out great music really enough? To address the issues of rights and royality, especially in the digital world, Mr. Surhit Bhattacharya – CIO, IPRS, expressed, “Individually we all are creating great work but it’s time to start connecting the dots. Many musicians still don’t know this, but music is connected to meta data. Today, reach is tremendous, and identification is tough. That’s why we need codes, ISWC and IPI numbers are like Aadhar, identification for you across the board. If you have an IPI number and your song plays anywhere in the world it tracks back to you. All you have to do is register with IPRS to get started.”

Moving forward, the event also highlighted India’s emerging position as a key player in the global music industry. As Mayur Puri highlighted, “The global music festival market in 2024 accounts for $2,258.2 million and is expected to grow at 24% CAGR by 2031 and the Asia Pacific market itself accounted for 23% of the global revenue share, expected to grow at a CAGR of 26% by 2031.” {according to Cognitive Market Research}

But with such festivals it’s difficult to take sustainable efforts and preserve the culture. That’s where Sharzede Datu Hj Salleh Askor, CEO of Sarawak Tourism Board, came into the picture and talked about the harmony of music, responsible tourism, and sustainability. She referred to the Rainforest Music Festival and how they cultivated a balance between getting more people for the festival without compromising the cultural integrity. She emphasised on, “Even after thousands of people coming to the event, after the event there’s barely any littering. We don’t want too many people. We want quality. We look at better ROI, which is Return on Intention because RWMF is not just celebrating music but increasing tourism with sustainable efforts. We believe cultures converge & music resonates. And that’s why our commitment to the art extends beyond the festival.”

Circling back to the most important part of being an artist and putting your work out for the world, Sharzade added, “It is very important to stay true to who we are. The world will continuously try to change you, but you can only be an author when you’re authentic.”

And to support her statement, Jung Hun Lee from South Korea, founder and General Director of Seoul Music Week, Gwangju Busking World Cup, and Ulsaan Jazz Festival, added, “You don’t have to be so mainstream all the time, there must be space for alternate music as well.” Which fits so well with Indian music and the legacy we are trying to build.

To conclude, Mayur Puri, conveyed his thoughts about IPRS and the event, saying, “We, at IPRS, are extremely proud that we could execute this mammoth task so efficiently. Because of consistent initiatives such as CreativeShalas, Learn and Earn workshops, regular campaigns like #CreditTheCreators, #HerMusicIPRS, and now Soundscapes – IPRS has become the flag bearer of creators rights and amplifying music business. No wonder, today IPRS is the only Indian company unequivocally trusted by music makers as well as stake holders in the music industry. Time after time, under the visionary guidance of our luminous Chairperson Shri Javed Akhtar Sahab, we have set new benchmarks for the business as well as community service. I’m positive that Soundscapes Of India will write a new chapter in understanding and fostering music festivals and live events; which are the very fundamental verticals of music industry.”

Kaushik Datta, conveyed his heartfelt gratitude saying, “To conclude, I would like to thank IPRS for stepping out of the box and reaching out to the global music market.”

Now, that IPRS has taken the first step towards opening the gates to the local and global stages for Indian musicians, they aim to continue driving this momentum, ensuring that Indian music is heard and celebrated on every corner of the globe, hoping that the conversation will continue and make way for creative solutions to help our musicians conquer the world with diverse and enigmatic music.