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NEW
DELHI: The Association of Radio Operators of India (AROI)
has welcomed Radio Mirchi's offer of $1 million of free commercial
time (FCT) to combat the menace of piracy in the music industry
by creating awareness among listeners..
Reacting
to the offer made by Radio Mirchi, AROI general secretary
Uday Chawla said: "It is a great gesture on the part
of the radio industry, that too coming from one of the major
channels in the radio business."
Chawla
further adds: "Our relationship with the music industry
is a symbiotic one and I hope that this gesture builds a relationship
of trust and friendship between us."
Chawla
feels that radio channels have been unfairly treated thus
far by the music companies.
"We
are like the goose that lays golden eggs. But if you think
you'll find tonnes of gold if you cut us at one go, I'm afraid
you're mistaken," Chawla adds.
Meanwhile,
sticking to its pledge of fighting piracy, Radio Mirchi has
again asked the music companies to come forward and provide
content for the FCT that it has offered.
Mirchi
had said that the FCT could be utilised by the music companies
to launch a massive awareness campaign against piracy, for
which advertisements need to be generated by the companies,
which they have not done till now.
"We
are open to the companies' suggestions in our fight against
piracy. We have made our offer and it is now up to them to
respond," Radio Mirchi CEO Prashant Panday told Indiantelevision.com.
Panday
says the FCT offer - which had been a call for action made
at the Ficci Frames meet earlier last month in Mumbai - is
spaced over a period of 12 months and is still available to
the companies unconditionally.
"We
haven't specified a deadline for the music industry to avail
of this offer. But in the end if they do not respond, we will
carry out this fight alone," Panday adds.
The
AROI has been dealing with this fractious relationship with
the music industry on the issue of double royalty, and looks
upon the Mirchi offer as a tool for clearing the deck for
negotiations.
Accordig
to Chawla, radio stations pay two types of royalty - one as
copyright and the other for 'performing fees' - and that eats
into, on an average, 16 to 20 per cent of their revenues in
larger cities.
"Although
for stations transmitting in A+ category cities the percentage
would be around nine, and may not be that big an issue for
operators there, the stations in smaller cities are having
a difficult time. They have to shell out up to 87 per cent
of their revenues for royalty," Chawla continued.
Asked
why the two interdependent industries haven't come to a consensus
on this issue so far, Chawla says, "The music industry
is split within itself, and that could perhaps be a reason
why they haven't been able to do much about piracy."
He
explained that the music industry has its own organisation
Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL). But T-Series, the top
player in the industry, is not a part of the body.
"I
feel the music industry has been myopic, for they see that
almost 90 per cent of the content radio stations air is music,
excluding advertisement that is, but this may not last forever,"
he held.
The
radio industry is expecting news and current affairs to be
allowed on private FM stations once the Third Phase of FM
licensing comes through.
"When
that is implemented, and if the transmission guidelines are
eased, I wouldn't be too surprised if some of the stations
don't play music at all," Chawla conjectured, hinting
that would give them a more level playing field.
The
India Today Group, in which Chawla is a senior official, owns
and operates Radio Today's Meow station that hardly runs music.
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