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Musicians are not surprised to hear their own music playing when they walk into a hotel or restaurant. They are resigned to the fact that there's little they can do to be paid for their creative talent which profits everyone else but them.
"For decades, most musicians in Nepal, however brilliant they are, have died penniless with their families suffering long after they are gone," says Prakash Sayami, vice president of the Music Royalty Collection Society of Nepal. Most people who should be protected, writers, composers, lyricists or performers, never see any royalty due to them under the law.
On 12 September, Sayami's society together with Bijay Vaidya & Rock Sitar organised a concert at Alliance Fran?aise to promote awareness of copyright law. "It's important that we promote copyright issues in Nepal, otherwise originality and creativity can never be preserved," said Alliance director, Philippe Martin.
Sayami said there was a need to set up a lobby group to protect and monitor the commercial use of artists' work. "It's not only a financial right, but it's a moral right that an owner is protected by copyright laws," he said.
Whether it is a Nepali song being given a Hindi makeover or vice versa, copyright laws are routinely violated and disregarded. In Nepal, most artistes blame the government for not doing enough to protect their rights. The problem is not a lack of laws, but a failure to enforce them.
Says Rabin KC: "Copying is a criminal offence and it has to be stopped." This might be true in a legal sense, but judging by the scores of shops selling pirated material, Nepal has a long way to go.
Shradha Basnyat
