Ilaiyaraaja, the legendary composer, is furious that singers, music directors, directors, and producers are using his old songs without paying him royalties. He even didn’t spare legendary singer SP Balu for performing his songs at concerts without paying him. They had a long friendship spanning decades. Prior to his death, SP Balu refused to perform Raaja’s songs.
Even after that Ilaiyaraaja refused to change his stance. He is also fighting a legal battle in court about royalty payment for commercial usage of his old tunes.
Even after that, Ilaiyaraaja refused to change his position. He is also fighting a legal battle in court over royalty payments for commercial use of his older songs.
Ilaiyaraaja also recently served legal notices on director Lokesh Kanagaraj and production house Sun Pictures for using one of his old songs in the teaser for “Coolie”. Ilaiyaraaja has a long association with Rajinikanth. He did, however, send notices to Rajinikanth’s film producers.
Now he has done it again. He served legal notices on the makers of the Malayalam film, Manjummel Boys. The film was a massive hit. Ilaiyaraaja composed the song “Kammani Prema” for the Kamal Haasan-starring film “Guna.”
Now, Ilaiyaraaja’s notices to various makers have sparked a heated debate in the film industry.
While some argue that Raaja’s demand for royalties is justified, others believe he is going too far. According to analysts, only producers and music companies can charge a fee for song usage, not composers. So, the debate is underway.
