Bollywood lyricists: All we demand is respect and credit for our work

In the wake of a recent tweet by Swanand Kirkire, pointing out that the lyricists' credits are omitted on music streaming platforms, the lyrics writing community of the Hindi film industry is demanding their basic rights as artistes and say that it should be the norm of modern music culture.
Decades ago, radio channels followed the norm of mentioning the names of the composer, lyricist and singer when playing songs for their listeners.
Cut to now. Digital platforms – music streaming platforms and music apps – do not mention lyricists' names. Apps also don’t have the provision of searching for a song by the names of its writer. This subject of lyricists not getting their due credit has been an on-going debate, but it recently gained momentum on social media when National-Award winning lyricist-writers Swanand Kirkire and Varun Grover called out music streaming apps for not giving due credit to lyricists. And many from the industry spoke up in their support. Bombay Times spoke to the lyricists and composers to delve into their views and grievances on the issue.
‘Most apps follow Western systems where the singer or the band is also the songwriter’
Swanand tells us, “Music apps don’t give credit to lyricists and we cannot search by our names. Some credit the composer and lyricist together - for instance, AR Rahman and Gulzar - not on the main screen, but in a tab buried somewhere.” What irks him is that though he raised the issue on social media a few days ago, it has not been addressed. “Nobody from a single app has responded. We aren’t fighting or accusing anyone, we are just saying this is the problem, tell us what can be done. Since I’m also a singer, I access the music apps to see the songs sung by me. But I have noticed that songs written by do not have the due credits.”
‘This is a natural requirement at a time when apps and online platforms are priding themselves on being well-catalogued’
Lyricist-writer Kausar Munir, who has tracks like Suno Na Sangemarmar, Falak Tak, Tu Hi Hai, Bhar Do Jholi Meri to her credit, says that this is not a demand or fight, but rather a natural requirement at a time when apps and online platforms are priding themselves on being accurate, modern and well-catalogued. She adds, “Aap ne ek gaana suna, yeh gaana kisne likha, kisne iska music banaya aur kisne gaaya – is the natural information related to that song and this should be available on every platform that is showcasing these songs. Why is this even something that needs to be spoken about or discussed? Using a western algorithm where the singer is the songwriter and the actor is the singer, doesn’t work for us. By doing that, you are not just disrespecting the lyricists, but you are also disrespecting our Indian system of working.”
‘The lyricist also is the creator of the song in equal measure as the composer’
Lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya, known for his songs like Channa Mereya, Kabira, Zehnaseeb and Gerua, among others, tells BT, “The lyricist is also the creator of the song in equal measure as the composer. People need to and should know the name of the person who has coined the line or phrase by which they recall or remember a song. This should be strategically practised, so that it becomes a norm of modern music culture.”
‘In credits, the composer or lyricists’ name should be first and only then the singer’s name’
Lyricist Prashant Ingole known for songs Malhari, Gajanana, Ziddi Dil, Udhal Ho, says, “Whenever a song is mentioned anywhere, either the musician or the lyricists’ name should be first, and only then the singer’s name should be mentioned because that is how a song is created. I believe that lyrists put magic and emotions to the melody created by the composer. Lyrics are what make a song – everyone who sings expresses their feeling via the song because of the lyrics. The composer, lyricist and singer’s names should be credited on the main title of the songs.” Abhiruchi Chand, who has written the songs Buddhu Sa Mann, Manzar Hai Yeh Naya, Theher Ja, adds, “A lyricist is one of the most important pillars of a song. Like I always say, hum likhenege hi nahi toh tum sunoge kya.”
‘We demand our moral rights over these songs’
Varun Grover, writer and lyricist, has fought for his rights as a lyricist in the past. Varun, who has penned songs like Moh Moh Ke Dhaage, Chaav Laaga, Ud-daa Punjab, tells us, “We, the lyrics writing community of the Hindi film industry, demand our moral rights over these songs to be credited and displayed with prominence on every platform and channel playing and monetising our labour of love. We demand all official online music channels credit lyrics writers prominently and correctly. All streaming apps credit and display lyrics writers on the main screen of the song and make the name tags searchable. All we have as our earnings are these songs. All we demand is our right. All we need from you is a change in the mindset to respect and credit the creators.”
‘Display pictures of lyricists along with those of composers and singers’
Kumaar, who is known for writing songs like, Baby Doll, Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan, Sooraj Dooba Hain, adding another element to the debate says, “Songwriters not getting due credit is nothing new. Iss sawal ko khatam karna hai. When radio stations and media start putting up pictures of lyricists along with the pics of composers and singers, then things will begin to change. Aise baatein karne se kuch nahi hoga.”
‘We composers are incomplete without the lyricists and singers’
Composer Shantanu Moitra says, “I’ve grown up on All India Radio and just after the song there would be the magical three lines spoken on the sangeetkar, geetkar, aur jisne gaya hai. Rarely have I ever heard them mention the actor. This was radio then. For them, the music stood on three pillars – the singer, composer and lyricist. We have come a long way since then, and I have always said that when art is left to market forces, and when art becomes a plaything of demand and supply, then such practices come about where a lyricist’s name is left out. And not just left out on streaming platforms, but left out as an ideology, as a spirit.”
In our study of the various music streaming apps, we found that music apps like Gaana, Spotify, Saavn, Wynk, give credit to the lyricists in Song Info/Song Details page. Globally, too, the regular practice is to have the lyricist/songwriter information as part of the Song Details page.