On October 7, 2026, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced that the Live Events Development Cell had discussed a proposal for a single national music licence with notified tariffs. The objective is to replace overlapping licensing demands from multiple rights societies and make music usage easier for businesses and event organisers.
Why does the current system create confusion?
A commercially released song can involve different rights, including the underlying musical composition and lyrics, as well as the recorded sound. Organisations such as IPRS, PPL and RMPL administer different repertoires and rights.
For businesses, understanding which permissions apply can become complicated. For smaller venues and independent event organisers, uncertainty about licensing requirements and costs can create additional financial and administrative pressure.
The government's proposal aims to make this process more predictable through a unified approach.
What could change for artists?
A simpler licensing system could encourage more restaurants, hotels, venues and event organisers to obtain proper permissions rather than avoid playing music because of complicated procedures.
That could create more opportunities for legally licensed music usage and strengthen the wider royalty ecosystem.
However, one important question remains: how will a unified system ensure that royalties reach the correct songwriters, composers, performers and recording rights owners?
Simplifying payments must not mean overlooking the creators behind the music.
The bigger opportunity
India's live events sector recorded 44% growth in one year, with approximately 34,000 events and over one crore livelihoods supported, according to the government.
A transparent licensing framework could become an important foundation for this growing ecosystem.
For music distributors and artist-service companies such as SwaLay, this development highlights why rights awareness and accurate music ownership information matter.
The future of India's music industry may depend not only on how many songs are played, but also on how fairly and efficiently the people behind those songs are paid.