Payment of Royalty from March 1, Bandula Gunawardena

Artists have been given a fresh promise that the royalty payment scheme will be put into effect from March 1.

The assurance was given when Minister of Information and Communication Bandula Gunawardena met with heads of media institutions today.

He said that the delay of royalty payment has been an injustice to the artists and some of them face difficult situations when they are ill or at their old age.

He said the payment scheme will legally be effective from March 1.

Earlier the  Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education and Human Resources Development recommended that a song aired from January 1 should pay a royalty of Rs.30 while songs being telecast on TV should pay Rs.100.

The committee has also recommended that Rs.30 must be increased by Rs.50 after 2022 while the Rs.100 must be increased by Rs.250 after 2022.

The Committee has agreed to present the bill related to this matter in Parliament on January 3, 2020.