ISRA, IMI sign historic agreement

CHENNAI: The Indian Singers Rights Association (ISRA), which is the apex body representing singers in India, recently signed a historic agreement with the Indian Music Industry (IMI), the apex body representing music labels in India.

The agreement will cover all record labels, singers and musicians on a pan-India basis and will help the music market grow for the common benefit of all stakeholders across the music ecosystem in India.

This agreement will work as a growth engine for the music industry in order to push it to the top 10 markets, globally.

“The historic accord will be the growth engine for the Indian music industry to propel itself to the top 10 markets in the world. When all stakeholders in the music ecosystem work together, a melody happens and this has been the case globally,” said Blaise Fernandes, president and CEO of the Indian Music Industry.

Present at the event were some of the veterans of the Indian music industry such as Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu and Shaan along with the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal.

Both the bodies expressed gratitude to Piyush Goyal and Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) for their support to the artiste community and the music industry. The music industry seeked support from the Government of India to tackle the growing menace of digital piracy and non-recognition of copyright.

Chairman of Indian Singers Rights Association, Padma Shri awardee Anup Jalota expressed his happiness as he said: “I would like to thank the Government of India and especially Piyush Goyal, without whose support this agreement would not have seen the light of day.”

Sanjay Tandon, founder, director and CEO of the Indian Singer’s Rights Association said: “It’s great to see the getting together of record labels and artistes at last. It will now enable the music industry as a whole to grow and prosper to the level that it should.”