Lata would be one of the world’s three richest women: Javed Akhtar

For 10 years now  poet, lyricist, writer and activist Javed Akhtar has been fighting a long lonely battle for royalty rights for musicians, singers and composers, taking on the powerful Indian Performing Rights Society Ltd (IPRS) and PPL (Phonograph  Performance Ltd) which monitors and channels musicians’ royalty. We now hear from reliable sources that the Central government has taken a call to amend the Copyright Act drastically in favour of musicians and is on the verge of sanctioning financial benefits close to 600 crores for them. 

Javed says he is proud that he has carried forward a crusade for musicians’ right that Lata Mangeshkar started in the 1960s. “Lataji was the first musician from the Indian film industry to raise the issue of royalties. If she had been able to secure her rights  whereby musicians get paid each time their song is played in public, she would have been one of the three richest women in the world."