The story Rookantha told about musicians' royalty rights

In the face of the ongoing debate these days, which has created controversy regarding new methods by which musicians are going to charge for their royalties, the views expressed by veteran singer and music creator Rookantha Gunathilaka have been widely discussed. Some accept what he says, while others have criticized it.

Below is the full series of comments he made at a press conference.

I cannot say, "Anyone can sing 'Suwanda Danie' because it belongs to me, so I don't mind anyone singing it." That song is not mine. So, here I can talk about two aspects. First, I will address this by forgetting everything else, as a music creator. If I were to put myself in the shoes of someone who says, "I am not a singer, I don't do any other job, I can't do anything else, I am only a lyricist, I have no other profession," then I think I would be a very helpless person.

That means, if I hadn't sung the songs I've written so far, let's assume hypothetically that I gave them to someone else. If that happened, I would just have to take whatever little money I received daily and stay aside. If someone asked, if they knew, they knew, otherwise I would just be someone who tells a newspaper from a corner, "I wrote that." Or if someone said it incorrectly, I would just be someone who says from the side, "No, no, it wasn't him, I wrote it." I wouldn't receive another cent in any other way. That is the current situation of a lyricist. We are stepping forward, step by step, to change that. This effort is to grant that right and ensure justice for the valuable person called a lyricist in this country, to support their life.

We all have a right to live. There are things necessary to live. Money is needed for everything like eating, drinking, clothing, taking care of children if you have them, paying rent if there is any, traveling from place to place by bus or taxi, and filling up fuel. In short, I remember very well a time when I didn't even have money to walk. If I were only a lyricist or a music director, I wouldn't have a large income based on the number of creations I've made. I must have created between three hundred and five hundred songs. 

Mr. Rohana Weerasinghe, I think, has directed about six to seven thousand, or even ten thousand songs. But even he only started receiving an income from this law after it had progressed to a certain extent. It's the same for all of us. So, as a music director or creator, if that happened to me, only a very small amount of money has started coming in now, based on the number of songs I've created. A check comes once a month. I look at it very happily, saying, "Oh, I've received this much this time." It's a very small amount that is received. That is the plain truth.

Then, singing is the person who is visible at the forefront of society. Whether it's any music concert, on radio or television, or on current social media, the first thing is, "So-and-so's song has come out." Whether it's beautiful or not good, it's always about that singer. Even though people within the music community might say, "Isn't so-and-so's creation beautiful?", in general society, the talk is, "This male or female singer has a beautiful song." Apart from that, very few people say, "This person wrote it, this person composed the music."

In the past, when a cassette or disc came out, some people would look to see who wrote it and who composed the music. There are people who did that as a habit, and there are still people who do. But most people don't. I remember when one of my cassettes came out, one of my closest friends told me that a certain businessman from Ratnapura came and asked for Rookantha's new cassette. That person, who loved me, took the cassette, tore up and threw away the large cover (a cover of about seven pages), and said, "I only need this," and took only the cassette. There are people like that too.

So, there's nothing we can do about that. That's the nature of individuals and characters. But there are also others who inquire about these things. I am happy about them and about the people who listen to songs. But here, I would like to address not only our beloved singers but also the entire society. To all my brothers and sisters, Sri Lankans and those living outside Sri Lanka who understand my language, I say, learn to love those who create songs as well. Because creating a song is a truly wonderful thing. It's something that must come from God. Now, imagine, without one of my songs, I'm taking a song from my brother Rohana here. Then, he must have created this song someday when he received the words from Mr. Ajantha Ranasinghe. So, a song like "Suwanda Danie" doesn't just happen by simply touching it. You can't do that. 

So, after working hard and creating it, he is the first to sing that song. Because of current technology, the creator is the first to sing it, whether into a telephone or a tape recorder. If he wrote it himself, he wrote it, and he sang it. So, both of those initially belong to him. After that, even if someone says, "Oh, give me that song," or "Please create a song for me," the original owner is the person who created it. That ability comes from above, it comes from God. Not everyone can do it. Just like not everyone can draw a picture that makes people say "Wow." I say that a successful creation is a beautiful creation that makes people say "Wow" out loud. 

Because you can't give a precise criterion for it. If I say it's bad, someone else can say, "No, this is good." That's why a song that many people say is good becomes a good creation. So, first, it's recorded in the creator's voice. Then, at the request of the person asking (the male or female singer), we temporarily give it to them to sing for a certain amount of money. They sing it and earn ten million, twenty million. If the singing is not successful, there's nothing we can do. If it's successful, you can earn plenty of money.

But when that creation is sung in various places, on stages, as the past changes, the present changes, and the whole world changes, these laws are added. Some laws are dropped, some laws are added. Mostly, laws are added. Just as laws entering and leaving countries change, people's needs increase. Lifestyles change. Accordingly, as I said before, I believe that I, as a lyricist, should also receive some money. Whoever benefits from that song, I am not telling this to the singer. I am not asking, "Oh, give me from your pocket" when the singer goes somewhere and performs.

However, if he goes and performs on a stage somewhere, a system has been created for that. In Western countries, as I have seen and experienced, if the organizer can pay for the ground, pay the police, pay for putting up tin sheets around, pay the security forces, pay the lighting crew and the band, then a small portion of that should be set aside and given, saying, "This needs to be given to those people, because the people who created these are at home." That's all that needs to happen.

I think that is very fair and successful. It's something that must happen. So, I cannot say to anyone, "My dear brothers and sisters, anyone can sing the song 'Suwanda Danie', I don't mind anyone singing it because it belongs to me." That song is not mine. The owner of that song is here on my left side now. And also, the responsible grandson of Ajantha Ranasinghe, who wrote it, is here. It does not belong to me. I cannot say that. Similarly, I cannot tell a singer, "Sing any song I have sung," for a song that belongs to me, other than myself. If it's his creation, he can say it. So, I lovingly remind you of that too.

To my dear brothers and sisters, my fans, and these intelligent Sri Lankan listeners, I say, don't be simply deceived. These are the people who work hard in this art world. Let's move forward in a way that justice is done to them. If this brings some money to this country from abroad, it's an income for this country. The government also receives taxes from it. This is a very good initiative. I urge all of us to come together and support it. Thank you very much, may everyone be blessed!