Artistes’ royalties in Bangladesh: Pipe dream or imminent reality?

International artistes have long rallied for proper royalty disbursements, a fight that has been successful in bringing long-term security to their professional and creative lives.

Despite that, it is deeply saddening to see some of Bangladesh's most prominent artistes suffer in the twilight of their careers, and even after retirement, due to the lack of financial stability.

In a roundtable discussion held at The Daily Star, prominent faces from our entertainment industry—Shampa Reza, Chanchal Chowdhury, Moutushi Biswas, Iresh Zaker, Shahed Ali, Tanim Noor and Shankha Dasgupta—engaged in a heated conversation about the prospects of introducing royalties for artists in the Bangladeshi film and television industries.

At the beginning of the discussion, eminent actress, singer, and model Shampa Reza highlighted that the most important aspect of artists' rights is for them to  be aware of these rights in the first place. "Unfortunately, we are ignorant about our own rights", said the cultural activist.

The people of the film and television fraternities put their hearts and souls together to make intriguing productions. However, when they age, they end up being called 'distressed artistes', having to seek funds for their survival or treatment.

National Film Award-winning actor Chanchal Chowdhury pointed out the industry's underlying problem. "Some people even request us to work for free! We are working in an unprofessional industry," he states. "Artistes are in the practice of compromising  with so many things, including negotiations about remunerations. This is absurd, art is not a free service, when are we going to realise this?"

The actor brought up an example of how international artistes raise their pay according to their demand and experience, and how the scenario is completely different here.

"Unfortunately, aged artistes have to live on the pity of 'funds' and have to depend on financial help for their medical treatments, either from the government or from their colleagues."

However, he sees positive changes in web platforms. "Since OTT services usually follow an international format in terms of contracts,  it is a commendable step towards professionalism."

Actor Shahed Ali shed light on the troubles they often experience as media professionals. "We are not eligible for benefits like provident funds, medical or any other insurance. Also, no private banks are interested in providing us with loans, when they learn about our profession, as we are not financially secure," he says.

"We are considered freelancers with no professional benefits that are often provided in a 'secure' job," he pointed out.

"Since it is strongly associated with commerce and economy,  a guideline for artists' gradation should be mandatorily made and implemented," Shampa Reza said.

She also stressed on the need for establishing 'professionalism'. "We are talking about the traditional and digital economy," she asserts. "Sadly, we have not been settled with the traditional economy as of yet. We don't have any system of formally signing contracts, no money receipt is provided when we get our payments—how can we talk about residuals?"

She mentioned that BTV followed a pay-scale for the artists—a guideline made since its inception. "We have developed so much digitally, and everything on digital platforms comes under the ICT Act," she says. "What is stopping us from maintaining transparency in monetising our creativity in this era?"

Shahed Ali, on this note, added another point. "BTV used to follow a ratio sharing policy, where profits were shared upon broadcasting," says the actor. "However, private channels never followed this policy."

Whatever input an artiste is giving into this industry is mostly out of passion.

Actress Moutushi Biswas shared her concern in this regard. "If I ask for a ratio from revenue, I can easily be replaced," she comments.

 "However, I feel we still need to ask, and it will definitely benefit the artistes in the long run."

Biswas also pointed out that there are other issues that media workers encounter on a daily basis. "We don't get paid on a monthly basis, thus there is a financial uncertainty that remains all the time," asserts the actress. "Most of us cannot afford a manager, or take help from experts. There are no professional agencies who can deal with our financial arrears with the producers. Television artistes don't even get costumes, they have to manage from their personal wallets."

Director Tanim Noor has a different point of view regarding the royalty system. "Artistes are in no way lawfully entitled to get any royalties," he said. "Since the work is commissioned, they are selling the rights to their work. Even in OTT platforms, directors and producers cannot claim royalty as all the rights are taken by the streaming service."

He explained that even international platforms have not fully integrated into this system. "When did the lead cast of the popular television series Friends start getting royalties? It happened when the producers began to earn huge revenues digitally after broadcasting numerous times." He suggests that a system of profit sharing can be introduced by negotiating with producers.

The film industry in Bangladesh has been at a vulnerable stage for many years. The scenario with television is quite similar. The lead cast of a project are paid more than anyone else in a production. This drastically hampers the quality of the project.

"When actors work on 15 projects in 30 days, it leads to a compromise in quality, which cannot be a sign of a proper industry," says Iresh Zaker, adding that if a better monetisation system is introduced, artists can also rest a bit.

"Viewership is driven because of the face value, and not for the product quality. For instance, a project that features popular faces like Mosharraf Karim, Apurba or Afran Nisho, will obviously get a good sponsorship, as viewers will not pay the same amount of attention to anyone else. However, artists should definitely ask for revenues for digital broadcasting," he says.

He also added that supporting cast members are not in the position to ask for such revenues. "Even in television, the projects are not driven by stories, people are interested because they are entertained with a limited group of favourites."

Zaker suggested that guilds can introduce a guideline with pay scales. "If a project earns enough, the digital earnings could be distributed amongst the cast and other associates. This might make actors start thinking about the quality of their projects, as they can earn more digital revenue, apart from their upfront payments."

Since actors are more receptive to upfront payments at this time, promoting consciousness about IPR might bring changes in the industry. According to Zaker, if the amount they earn from royalty is equivalent to what they would earn from upfront payment, then artistes would be motivated.

"Having said that, the concept will always be more beneficial to the lead artistes," he adds. "It will never be equal for everyone. However, ratios can justify the disbursements."

Zaker explained that monetising rights for supporting artistes is a production issue. Even internationally acclaimed supporting casts do not get paid, to his knowledge.

"If supporting actors agree to the idea of reducing their remuneration, and take a ratio from revenue that generates from post broadcasting, I am sure many of the producers will agree to it," he said. 

"We must think rationally, since our profit margins are low, we can't actually demand for something bigger at this state," he adds, presenting a reality check.

The television and film industries are operating on a sub-optimal system, where no fixed regulations are followed. However, the related associations are slowly trying to bring them on track. 

Private channels do not have any guidelines of paying for repeat telecasts, even to the producers.

Talking about digital revenues, Chanchal Chowdhury and Shompa Reza shared their personal experiences.

"Many of the songs I have recorded are available on YouTube, and the audio reach is quite good, however, I was completely unaware of the fact that people are earning money from that," says Chanchal Chowdhury.

"There was a time we were overwhelmed when other people uploaded our work on several media. However, we had no idea that the work was generating profits, from which we were being deprived."

"OTT platforms are now more story-driven, they are absolutely not dependent on popular faces," shares director Shankha Dasgupta.

"I have met Jack Boko, DOP of the revolutionary series, Friends. I was quite surprised to learn that he still earns royalties from his previous projects, even today, whenever they are aired," says Shahed Ali. "Royalties will be beneficial for the low-earning crew members even if they get a minimum amount from their productions." He shared that the pandemic was a critical time, as several media workers had to change their professions and many also left the country. They were financially broke, which is a major concern  for their survival.

A cultural movement is needed to fix all these problems, comments Shampa Reza. "We are losing our dignity when we aspire to become just 'entertainers' instead of cultural workers. It is time to wake up. I am glad that the new generation is not only speaking up about these problems, but are also taking attempts to solve them," she says.

Shankha Dasgupta and Tanim Noor agreed that a sense of ownership needs to be established, and that the royalty system will open doors for many.

"We have to consider it as a global race," Dasgupta said. "If we can facilitate the commission and licensing then we can acquire the market properly."

"There will be transparency when there will be an established box office,"  adds Tanim Noor.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) is still at an embryonic stage in Bangladesh. Copyright is one of the main pillars of the act. The Copyright Act 2000, as amended in 2005, ensures the protection of the interests of creators by giving them moral and economic rights over their creations against those who reproduce or make any commercial use in which the original work was expressed.

Barrister Wolora Afrin, Secretary General for Copyright Society (LCSCF) for audio visual works and also a producer, explained the digital implications of Copyright Law.

"For the last 20 years, there have been few officially reported cases regarding copyright," Afrin says. "According to section 15 of the Copyright Act 2000, copyright subsists in original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, cinematograph films, and sound recordings. Rightholders, on the first hand, need to raise their voices regarding their exploitation by different parties".

She shared that almost all of the cases are settled outside the court by partirs negotiating personally; in some cases even the lawyers are unaware.

"Enforcement of the Copyright Act is a blessing for all the right holders. Producers can safeguard piracy and thus, be encouraged to introduce a profit sharing system."

Highly publicised cases were filed in recent years, including Qazi Anwar Husain's "Masud Rana" series and popular band Shironamhin's music.

However, several highlighted cases, such as singer Dilruba's "Pagol Mon", and some others, were settled personally.

"As a producer, I, too, was unaware of the fact that my work is being uploaded on YouTube, from which revenues are generated. I am set to report it under the ICT Act," Afrin says.

According to her, the case will be resolved through BTRC. She also said that every year, a huge amount of revenue is earned digitally and laundered illegally outside Bangladesh. A little consciousness can help everyone earn the revenues, save the creators and the government to be benefited with these revenues through tax.

She suggested that rightholders should start taking suggestions from experts. "Film producers under copyright act will benefit from royalties for sixty years. Thus, if they get royalties, they will be more  interested in sharing the profits with other stakeholders as well".

The author is Reporter, Arts & Entertainment, The Daily Star. Email: sharmin@thedailystar.net.