Garba organisers, beware! If you play music at garba functions without getting licences, the Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS) can drag you to court.

According to IPRS, playing music at any public premises requires prior permission from the owners of that music. There are three owners in case of a song - the composer, the lyric writer and the publisher. Thus, for one song, a person who wants to play music in public, will have to obtain permission from all the three owners.

Kunal Sarin, senior general manager (licencing) of IPRS, said here on Friday, "As Gujarat features on the map of highest level of piracy and illegal consumption of music in the country, the IPRS has taken up the task to curb illegal consumption of music and piracy in state."

He further said that IPRS members have talked to several garba organisers in Ahmedabad in this regard.

This year, Sarin said, many organisers of Ganesh Utsav in Mumbai had taken licences for playing songs at their functions. "We expect the same in garba functions too."

He said music is also played at restaurants, shops, hotels and other establishments. According to IPRS norms, for playing of any type of music, either live or recorded, the premises owners have to take licence, failing which legal action could be taken against the owners or proprietors of restaurants, malls and hotels. Sarin also said that IPRS has served legal notices on various establishments in Ahmedabad, including Iskcon Mall, Grand Bhagwati, Hotel Fortune Landmark, Neelkanth Group of Hotels and others for playing music without getting licences.  

The IPRS is a representative body of owners of music, viz composers, lyricists and publishers. It collects royalty for music and pays it to their rightful owners.