Music Royalty Battle: Sony Refuses Ilaiyaraaja Revenue Details in Court

The issue came up for hearing before Justice N. Senthilkumar of the Madras High Court.

Appearing for Sony Music, senior counsel Vijay Narayan said that while his client had produced the statement of accounts in a sealed cover for the judge’s perusal, it could not be shared with Ilaiyaraaja or his counsel as the document contained confidential commercial information, including revenue from platforms such as Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify. He contended that Ilaiyaraaja could not seek such data unless he first established his legal right over the songs in question, which were composed for films for which he had already received remuneration from the producers.

Opposing this argument, senior counsel S. Prabakaran, representing Ilaiyaraaja, said that the Supreme Court had repeatedly disapproved of the practice of submitting documents in sealed covers. He urged the court to direct Sony Music to disclose the details openly, asserting that withholding such information undermined transparency in judicial proceedings.

Justice Senthilkumar, however, decided against opening the sealed cover at this stage. The judge was informed that Sony Music had already approached the Supreme Court seeking to transfer Ilaiyaraaja’s suit from the Madras High Court to the Bombay High Court, where the company had filed a related civil suit in 2021 to declare itself the rightful copyright holder of certain songs composed by the veteran musician. That case also sought to restrain Ilaiyaraaja from asserting commercial rights over those works.

Vijay Narayan further informed the court that the Supreme Court Bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran had issued notice to Ilaiyaraaja on October 15, 2025, and was expected to hear the transfer plea on November 26. Considering this, Justice Senthilkumar observed that High Courts generally refrain from proceeding with cases pending transfer before the apex court.

Accordingly, the judge directed the registry to list Ilaiyaraaja’s case for further hearing on November 27, 2025, after the Supreme Court’s decision on the transfer plea. The statement of accounts submitted by Sony Music will remain unopened until then.

- IANS