Rapper Krishna Kaul, famous with his stage name 'KRSNA', is upset over the use of his music by Disney Hotstar without permission. He alleged that the IPL 2020 anthem is copied from his song 'Dekho Kaun Aaya Wapas' released in 2017.
Krishna had responded to the post by IPL on Twitter which received over 10,000 likes. There was a hashtag '#IPLAnthemCopied' trending on the micro-blogging site too.
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The rapper requested his fellow artists and admirers of his music to support. "Hey guys, @IPL has plagiarised my song “Dekh Kaun Aaya Waapas” and created “Aayenge Hum Wapas” as this years anthem without credit or consent. I request my fellow artists and friends on twitter to RT this tweet for awareness, they can not get away with this."
The composer of the IPL anthem Pranav Ajayrao Malpe has defended himself by saying it is his original work and he even has a certificate from the Music Composers Association of India (MCAI).
Four MCAI panelists, including musician Leslee Lewis, felt the music wasn't copied and there was no similarity between the two songs. "MCAI is an institution of repute and the experts on the panel have a lot of experience. I feel we should respect the experts' views and put this debate to rest," Malpe told PTI.
"Nagpur has small but budding hip-hop and rap scene which I’m a part of. I’m proud that this track has been liked and that I’ve been able to put a spotlight on the Nagpur hip-hop scene," he added.
The MCAI feels this genre of music doesn't include plagiarisation. "A genre or rap style however is not copyrightable and doesn't constitute plagiarisation. Hence the panel is of the opinion that there exists a substantial difference between the compositions of both the tracks," the statement from MCAI read.
Krishna found the statement shocking and expressed his disapproval over the judgment. "The MCAI statement is a serious attack on musicians and composers everywhere because their claim that a genre like hip hop cannot be differentiated means everyone is free to copy everybody else - hook, line, and sinker," he claimed.
(With PTI Inputs)
