MUMBAI: In a major move to bolster its public performance revenues, Virtual Planet, the production house behind super-hit songs like Gajendra Verma’s Tera Ghata and Ik Kahani Song has recently signed an agreement with Phonographic Performance Limited India (PPL). The said contract gives PPL the exclusive rights to collect royalties on the record label’s behalf, on all public performances and radio broadcasts in India.

Commenting on the importance of the new deal, Virtual Planet director Vikram Singh reportedly said, “PPL as an organisation has drastically improved in terms of governance and transparency over the last one year. As a result, we’ve decided to join them in order to monetise our public performance and radio broadcasting rights.”

Reiterating on his new partner’s sentiments, PPL India President and CEO Rajat Kakar said, “We’re proud to be partners with Virtual Planet, a company that has revolutionised the Indie music scene through their impeccable work. The success of Tera Ghata is a testament to their good work. We’re committed to ensuring that our members get the royalties they so tirelessly work for, so that they may continue to create the music that we all love.”

Public performance royalties i.e. the compensation paid to a record label for the privilege of playing their music on a public forum, is a crucial source of revenue to the music industry, in India, and abroad. The Copyright Act of 1957 protects the works of music publishers from being used without their permission and performance rights companies help enforce these rules to the benefit of their members.

PPL India is the country’s largest public performance rights organisation representing the interests of 300+ music labels with more than 1.5 million international and 0.8 million domestic songs in their repertoire. The signing on of Virtual Planet as its latest member will further expand the company’s reach in the Hindi and Punjabi music segments.