Music composers make millions: Mahesh Bhatt

Jul 6, 2010 IANS

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has once again sparked a discussion on the royalty issue that gripped the Bollywood music fraternity and producers earlier this year, saying "composers and singers make millions by performing on hit songs by way of live shows".

"A wrong perception has been built up, giving an impression that composers do not make money from a hit song. The fact is that the composers and singers make millions by performing on hit songs by way of live shows," Bhatt posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.

"Whereas the producers take the entire commercial risk. How can you ask for an equal share in the profit when you don't share the loss?" he added.

However, Bhatt's comment didn't go down too well with writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar.

"No one is asking for a penny from the film's profit. We are asking for our rights and dignity," Akhtar wrote on Bhatt's account on Twitter.

Aamir Khan-Javed Akhtar and Sonu Niigam-Vidhu Vinod Chopra have already had an altercation in this regard as the music industry is demanding 50-50 share in the profits that the producers make from the music of the film. But producers are resisting it.

Members of the music industry have also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and proposed amendments to the Copyright Act as a solution.