The Madras High Court rules that Ilaiyaraaja is not entitled to exclusive ownership of his works

Over 1500 Indian films have had music created by the renowned master of the Indian music business, Ilaiyaraaja. Despite having millions of followers and being referred to as the Isaignani Ilaiyaraaja by his devotees, the maestro is often in the headlines due to a legal dispute with someone else. After a disagreement with a private record label, the composer filed a formal complaint, and the last hearing has been held.

The Madras High Court ruled, according to The Indian Express, that the composer of music could not claim exclusive ownership of his creations.According to the statement, the almost 4500 songs on the private recording firm are the product of many artists and do not exclusively belong to the music director.

The court also ordered that Ialiyaraaja’s business dealings with music streaming services must wait until his appeal over the ownership of the song he wrote is resolved. The dispute persisted, arguing that even if Ilaiyaraaja was the owner of the musical notation, the producer should have been the rightful owner of the song if he had been paid for it. In response, the attorney argued that Ilaiyaraaja’s music rights remain unaffected by his contracts with producers.

The Madras High Court questioned the composer in this case about how he could claim ownership of the song when it was written by someone else. The court also pointed out that in addition to Ilaiyarraja, other contributors to the song’s composition include lyricists, singers, and musicians. The composer was also asked what would happen if the lyricist made a claim to ownership as well. According to the court decision, the composer cannot assert exclusive ownership of the songs until June, when the case is postponed.

Regarding work, Ilaiyaraaja is currently writing the soundtrack for “Viduthalai 2.” Under the direction of Vetrimaaran, the film is now in post-production and features Gautham Menon, Soori, Bhavani Sre, and Vijay Sethupathi in the key parts. The next film, which is a biopic of the composer, will have songs written by him as well. Dhanush plays the main role in this Arun Matheswaran-directed film.

The poster for the movie has been out, and Kamal Haasan will write the narrative. The biography will tell the story of Ilaiyaraaja, showing how he progressed from being a regular guy to writing over 7000 songs, over 1000 films, and performing in 20,000 concerts worldwide.