A step forward in the field of music in Sri Lanka

By Dr. Visharad Dayaratna Ranatunga

President of the Sri Lanka Performing Rights Society, ex- Director, Music and Research Depts. of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corp.

The Intellectual Property Act was brought to the Parliament and gazetted on the 14^th of November 2003. Though we have been following the British Law from the time we got independence, the Copyright Law which had been enforced with the other laws was not being activated by our lawyers, may be due to the ignorance of the artistes or the lawyers.

As a result of this lack of knowledge among the people, the credibility or the dignity of the artistes and the value of the works of art have been neglected. This is why the artistes of Sri Lanka fell into a helpless position while the artistes of other countries became millioners.

In Japan the government owned media NHK alone pays an amount of approximately 30,000 yen to an artiste per month as royalty for the broadcast of their songs. All the other developed and developing countries too pay reasonable amounts to the artistes as royalty for using their works of art for entertainment of the people over the electronic media. In Sri Lanka all the electronic media survive on the broadcast or telecast of the songs of the artistes without paying a single cent as royalty to them. In all the media organizations in Sri Lanka lots of advertisements are used within each and every musical programme put over the air. The entertainment or the appreciation of the listener or the spectator is being disturbed by having these advertisements. In other words the ‘rasika’

or the connoisseur undergoes a mental harassment as a result of his or her need to listen to the works of art of the artiste he or she loves. The artiste can at least be patient if the organization pays a reasonable remuneration for the damage they do. Ultimately what happens is that everybody keeps silent while the media organizations take the artiste and the listener or the spectator as well for a ride. 

I am not against having commercials during musical programmes. It should be done tactfully without distorting the aesthetic values of the main programme. All these subtle

Features are discussed in the Intellectual property Act. 

The Intellectual Property Law protects the main rights of the artistes. If the law is properly administered in Sri Lanka, the illegal distortions, unauthorized copying of creations, mutilations, piracy and other illegal forms of robbing the works of art from the right owners could be stopped. 

Today it is the businessmen ( the cassette mudalalis, shop keepers ) and the media organizations who make money on the talents of the artistes. It is the money that ruins the country. The ethical values and the cultural values have been forgotten. 

The Intellectual Property Act is enforced in other countries successfully with the backing of the relevant governments. If the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Media do not understand the gravity and the sin of destruction of the works of art and the cultural heritage, then the noble thought of keeping the heads up as Sri Lankans of a civilized state will not be a reality.