It was long overdue but artists in Pakistan have finally started speaking publicly about royalties and why policies should be made so that artists get their due share for the work they do. Unless, you have been living under a rock or have boycotted social media, you must have seen multiple posts with hashtag #GiveRoyaltiesToArtists in the last week.
While it is battle fought on multiple fronts since years, Mikaal Zulfiqar recently wrote about it when he found a channel airing re-runs of his renowned drama serial Diyar-e-Dil. Later, it took a form of a social media campaign when senior actor Naila Jaffri asked for financial help on social media and suggested that she should be paid for the re-runs of her dramas. She has been battling ovarian cancer for the last six years.
However, very few Pakistanis understand the concept of royalties and hence artists’ demands caused a social media uproar as many started trolling the artists for creating nuisance for no reason.
To school the trolls and educate those who genuinely are eager to know more, Ayesha Omar and Faysal Quraishi took to social media and explained the concept of ‘Royalties’ to naysayers.
“I did some research…. was very helpful. All over the world, artists get residuals and royalties. It is their due right. That’s how they survive. P.S. A couple of decades ago, royalties were given to Pakistani artists by PTV. Then it all changed. This movement has been started to secure the future of actors/artists/performers in their times of need. More like a pension of sorts, for their hard work and contributions and for all that comes with being in the entertainment industry,” she wrote on Instagram.
Royalties & its examples
Taxes
Takeways
Residuals
Faysal made a video in which he explained how the demand of royalties is not important just for actors, but for everyone involved in the making of a drama or film.
View this post on Instagram
2 Comments