Legendary playback singer K.J. Yesudas has urged TV channels and others to pay royalties to composers and lyricists for their work.
“Why can’t a TV channel pay just 25 paise each composer and lyricist of a song, when they use it for their shows? There are composers and lyricists who badly need some financial support,” the singer told a national newspaper.
“It is because of classics such as ‘Thamasamenthe Varuvan’, for instance, that reality shows attract audience. So it is only fair that Baburaj, who composed that song, and P. Bhaskaran, who wrote it, should benefit from the song. Rather than waiting for the government to bring in a law, I feel TV channels and others who use the songs should initiate a process to offer royalty,” he added.
The singer recently rendered his voice for a song composed by Raghavan Master for director Pramod Payyanur’s film Balyakala Sakhi, based on the life of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. Talking about it, he said: “It is remarkable that he composed a song at the age of 96. I feel he must be the world’s oldest film music composer.”