PTI Senator Faisal Javed tables bill to secure royalties for 'creative people' of Pakistan

Pakistan’s entertainment fraternity’s continuous struggle to receive royalties for its contributions is finally proving to be fruitful. A year after the PTI Senator Faisal Javed passed a resolution for the same, he updated people on the progress made on the matter.

Javed, the Chairman Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, took to Twitter to announce that he has now put forward a royalty bill for the country’s artists.

On Monday, the PTI leader tweeted, “After getting the resolution passed unanimously last year. Glad to announce that today it was indeed a pleasure tabling the much-needed royalties bill, especially for the poor creative people of our country. Hoping to get it passed soon,” with the hashtag “Royalties for Artists”. In a follow-up tweet, Javed wrote that artists have been facing the issue of “rightful and just royalties for a long time due to redundant and outdated provisions of relevant laws.” He said that the amendment in the Copyright Ordinance 1962 aims at empowering the copyright board to fix the royalties for licencing and assignment work.

Celebrities, who were on the forefront voicing their opinion on the matter, applauded the politician for finally getting them what they deserve. The Sang-e-Mah actor Omair Rana retweeted Javed’s tweet and said that this single “honourable fight” can bring honour to all artists of Pakistan and single-handedly launch not just the culture-driven industry but also “start-ups and innovators and enterprises of all kinds.”

The fight began in April 2021, after veteran actor Naila Jaffery’s video on the matter went viral, where many raised the issue of royalties, which are inadvertently denied to the artists who make the productions – which have multiple reruns – a hit.

After several actors raised their voices following Jaffery’s grief, Javed took to Twitter and shed light on the same. Writing on the micro-blogging site, he announced, "Most countries around the world give royalties/residuals to artists every time a show, their work, is re-run, a second time or more. However, sadly in Pakistan, where many artists are already underpaid, there is no policy or law ensuring that artists be given financial credit for their work.”

Javed, later, revealed that he was in the process of building a framework with the stakeholders, to come up with a bill that will ensure artists are paid their due royalties and we’re glad he stood up to this promise!