KOCHI: In a bid to combat the rampant piracy that is threatening the music industry, the South Indian Music Companies Association (SIMCA) and South India Digital Music Management Private Ltd (SIDMM) have launched ‘Cell Muzik’, a company authorised to give licences to sell music and take action against those who make and sell pirated versions.The company, based in Chennai, has now launched its branch in Kochi to help the Malayalam music industry check the fast-growing piracy in the music field.Speaking at the event, musician M Jayachandran said that though the artistes in the Malayalam music industry charge the lowest when compared to their counterparts in the other languages, the industry here is going through a phase of unimaginable loss owing to piracy.“Any music that has been released is available in the black market within a day or two. The result is a shocking decline in the sales of original CDs and consequently a great loss to the industry,” he said.SIMCA general secretary J Sreedhar said the company had already appealed to the Central government to block all unlicensed internet sites which allow music downloads. “It has come to our notice that many mobile stores ‘sell’ pirated versions of music to their customers by transferring it to the memory cards of mobile phone’s for a fixed price. We have decided to act against this by spotting them and asking them to acquire licences before selling the songs. They will have to pay a nominal amount of `12,000-`15000 per annum though they earn over five times the amount every year by selling music illegally,” Sreedhar said.“We are planning to set up our stations in all major cities and then talk to the mobile store owners regarding the rules. If they do not pay heed to the warnings even after three to four attempts, the anti-piracy team of Cell Muzik, comprising retired police officers, will take action against them,” Sreedhar added.
Comments
0 comment