Madras High Court directs Sony Music to reveal income from exploiting Ilaiyaraajas songs

The Madras High Court on Friday (September 26, 2025) directed Sony Music Entertainment India Private Limited to furnish, by October 22, the assertion of accounts itemizing the income earned by it by means of the “industrial exploitation” of the songs composed by acclaimed musician R. Ilaiyaraaja.

Justice N. Senthilkumar issued the path pursuant to a brand new civil go well with filed by the musician towards Sony Music, Echo Recording Company Private Limited, and New Jersey-based Oriental Records, alleging unauthorised industrial exploitation of his compositions.

While senior counsel S. Prabakaran argued the matter on behalf of the composer, senior counsel Vijay Narayan represented Sony Music. In his affidavit, Mr. Ilaiyaraaja stated, he was reverred as Isaignani (musical genius) and maestro of music, reflecting his unparalleled stature on this planet of music globally.

“I’m an eminent Indian creator, music composer, conductor, arranger, lyricist, and playback singer, whose multifaceted contributions have profoundly formed Tamilian, Indian, and international music panorama…. My profession is distinguished by a prodigious and actually unparalleled physique of labor in international music historical past,” he stated.

Claiming to have adopted an autonomous strategy to composition of movie songs all by means of his profession, the composer stated: “I singularly conceive, develop, and execute my compositions with full artistic independence, with out exterior interference or prescribed directions.”

He additionally stated: “As such, my relationship with movie producers and artistic collaborators has at all times been on a principal-to-principal foundation and by no means as an worker or beneath a ‘work for rent’ association… I’ve persistently asserted and exercised my authorship and possession over my unique compositions.”

Stating that Echo Recording had been given the licence to promote solely audio tapes (cassettes) and compact discs (CDs) containing his songs, Mr. Ilaiyaraaja stated, Sony Music couldn’t be allowed to use these songs by means of different digital media by claiming to have acquired the rights that had been as soon as held by Echo Recording.

The composer additionally doubted the authenticity of the paperwork by means of which Echo Recording had reportedly signed an task settlement in favour of Oriental Records on February 2, 2020; inside 12 days thereafter, Sony Music had entered into a list acquisition settlement with Oriental on February 14, 2020.

He additionally accused Sony Music of distorting his compositions by remastering them after which selling them on its social media handles in addition to different digital media. Since a composer would at all times have an ethical proper over his compositions, such distortions couldn’t be permitted in any respect, he argued.

On the opposite hand, Mr. Narayan delivered to the discover of Justice Senthilkumar that two instances on the identical problem had been already pending earlier than a Division Bench of the Madras High Court and earlier than the Bombay High Court, the place the listening to was at a complicated stage and because of be heard subsequent on October 16.

The senior counsel stated, Mr. Ilaiyaraaja had failed in his try to get Sony Music’s go well with transferred from the Bombay High Court to the Madras High Court and due to this fact, he has now chosen to file a brand new go well with with an equivalent prayer, which the music label had sought from the Bombay High Court.

Mr. Narayan sought time to file an in depth counter affidavit to Mr. Ilaiyaraaja’s new case. The choose accepted his plea and directed the music firm to file a press release of accounts in the course of the subsequent listening to of the case on October 22.