Raja sir is legally right, morally wrong: Madhan Karky

Lyricist Madhan Karky has come out with a lengthy statement on the recent Ilayaraja-SPB row, in which the former has asked the latter not to perform his songs on stage.

"On Royalties...Seeing with the lens of law, what Raja sir did is right. A song is owned by the composer, lyricist and producer," he said in his post.

"Seeing with the eyes of friendship, it doesn't seem right. A call instead of a legal notice may have sorted things smoothly.

Whenever a song is played or performed outside a cinema hall, for public, royalties for that song will be collected and distributed to composer, lyricist and producer. Royalty societies like IPRS will collect such royalties and distribute.

Even if Raja sir has not permitted an organisation like IPRS to manage his royalties, and is managing by himself, he still does not own the song completely.

Even if Raja sir is performing in a public event, the royalties for those songs should go to the respective lyricists and producers also.

If the writers or producers send a legal notice to him, he will not be able to perform the songs without their prior permission.

I am happy that Raja sir is taking this issue to a bigger stage, even if it is bitter to many, so we can get together to understand royalties."