Licence to download

It’s perhaps the Indian music industry’s best chance to rid itself of the scourge of piracy. In what is being touted as the first of its kind in the world, the Indian Music Industry (IMI), the entertainment industry body in India, has launched Music Mobile Exchange (MMX) with the express purpose of directly curbing the problem of mobile chip piracy (illegal download of music content on to mobile phone chips).

With this, mobile phone stores and related shopkeepers can download music legally on mobile phone chips by opting for a MMX licence from the right holders and sell music without violating the Copyright Act.

The music industry in India has been losing more than Rs 300 crore each year only on account of mobile chip piracy. “With this, we have merged enforcement and marketing. The marketing team goes around the marketplace identifying shops involved in the business,” says Savio D’Souza, Secretary General, IMI. Those sensing a business opportunity in conducting the business legally would be given a licence and the others could attract visit by antipiracy teams.

Mobile phone penetration poised for growth with estimates that it would hit the 700-million mark by 2012. Growing piracy resulting in declining revenues is a major worry for the music industry. The IMI is a consortium of over 142 music companies formed to protect the interest of the music industry. The MMX has already roped in seven major brands: Saregama, Tips, Venus, Universal, Sony, EMI and Aditya Music.

The MMX licence can be taken for a period of one to three years at a cost of Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,000 per month/per computer depending on the kind of shop and its location. The licence fees collected is shared with the music companies after deducting the operational expenses of the MMX.

According to D’Souza, the IMI has so far registered more than 1,000 cases against mobile chip piracy and if the accused are convicted, then the punishment could range from 6 months to 3 years in jail with fines ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh.

On the reasons why the MMX has been first launched in Hyderabad, D’Souza says the key reason is that Andhra Pradesh has the largest mobile phone subscriber base in the country with 2.48 crore subscribers.