Salim Merchant says he stopped working with Yash Raj Films as production house hasn't paid him royalties

Singer and music composer Salim Merchant, in a recent interview, claimed that Yash Raj Films has not paid him royalties despite having collected it in the artists’ names. Salim, who belongs to composer duo Salim-Sulaiman, told Quint, “Yash Raj has been collecting money on behalf of the composer and lyricist - that much I know - but I don’t know whether they have paid anyone. They have certainly not paid me and Sulaiman. It’s Yash Raj Films and T-Series, these two companies have not been paying.” This news comes after an FIR was registered on Wednesday against Yash Raj Films Company and its directors for allegedly pocketing Rs. 100 crore by collecting music royalties of members of the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) by Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police. [caption id=“attachment_7686751” align=“alignnone” width=“1200”] Salim Merchant. Image from Twitter[/caption] Salim went on to say that singer and acclaimed lyricist Javed Akhtar, who is also the chairperson of IPRS, has also not received any royalty from YRF. Salim added that that was the main reason they have stopped working with YRF for the past few years. He said he never thought on the lines of his work getting affected, he instead went on to work with companies like Zee Music, Sa Re Ga Ma, and Sony Music. The complainant claimed the IPRS has the exclusive right to collect royalties on behalf of artists and music producers but the YRF collected it without authorization. “Yash Raj Films Company and its directors allegedly pocketed Rs. 100 crore by collecting music royalties of members of the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS),” the official said quoting the complaint, reported PTI. The case has been registered under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Copyright Act, the official added. “Since this is a legal case the board can’t comment about it until tomorrow (Thursday),” stated a representative of the IPRS. The Yash Raj Films has not issued any statement yet.