A new drama is unfolding in the world of music. Earlier last week Pakistani singer and activist Shehzad Roy took to twitter with this angry message: “Laga Reh is a song I made to protest about injustice and that very song ends up being used illegally by @CocaCola.” He added that, “@CocaCola not only used my song without consent for [a] Sprite ad, modified the song [and] also distorted its social [message] by picturising [it] on Godzilla.”

The advertisement in question is Sprite’s recent campaign — Sprite Refreshment 2017— which originally featured Shehzad Roy’s 2008 hit. The video shows a young man desperate to quench his thirst with a bottle of Sprite while a Godzilla-inspired monster wrecks havoc and destruction in the background. 

The singer issued a statement saying that he had been approached by Soho Square, the agency representing this campaign, which sought permission to use his song, but that they had not come to an agreement. 

In his statement, he said, “Soho Square and my team had exchanged drafts of this Agreement but the final contract with Soho Square had NOT been concluded and signed, owing to the fact that I had to further review and revise a few clauses of the Agreement. [...] Despite this, Soho Square and Coca-Cola Company went ahead and developed the advertisement of the brand ‘Sprite’ with my licensed song even though I was still reviewing the Agreement.

“My team had also strictly conveyed to them that since the licensed song contains a very powerful socio-political message, it must not be distorted in any way or conceptually changed for the advertisement campaign. We also stressed that Soho Square must have the concept of the advertisement approved by me before using the licensed song for the advertisement.” 

In response, Soho Square issued the following statement: “SOHO Square was in discussions with Shehzad Roy’s team regarding use of his song Laga Reh, for our esteemed client, The Coca-Cola Export Corporation, Pakistan Branch. All contractual and monetary negotiations regarding rights’ acquisition for this song were amicably agreed upon, against a handsome amount that was also mutually agreed.

“The final copy of the said advertisement was sent to Shehzad Roy for final review before airing. We were later informed by Shehzad Roy’s team that the agreement has been signed and ready to be collected from his office.

“However, after airing of the advertisement, Shehzad Roy complained to our client that his song has been used without completing legal formalities. Upon receiving this complaint, we replaced the song with our own jingle and Shehzad Roy’s team was informed of this move. As a responsible and leading advertising organisation, we have fulfilled all legal requirements during the process.”

After producing music targeting rampant corruption, Shehzad Roy takes a stand to protect the rights of artistes

The new version of the advertisement is available on Sprite Pakistan’s social media account. It does not feature Shehzad Roy’s song. But according to Roy, the original advertisement featuring his song ran from April 3rd till April 9th. 

“We expeditiously informed Coca-Cola Company regarding the violation contained in the aforementioned advertisement, but they failed to ensure that the advertisement was taken off air immediately, said Roy in his statement. “Instead, the Coca-Cola Company deliberately, willfully and in collusion with Soho Square continued to display the said advertisement with my song for a few more days, during which time the Coca-Cola Company continued to benefit from the display of this advertisement.” 

He added that, “The fact that the advertisement with my song was halted from display after 9th April, 2017, confirms that both Soho Square and Coca-Cola Company accept and admit their liability of intellectual property rights infringement.”

For Roy, simply replacing his song with another is not enough. He wants justice. Not just for himself, but for the entire community. 

According to him, “In this last decade, I’ve stood up against many social injustices but when my own intellectual property rights were violated, I was advised by my friends and colleagues not to get into a legal battle with a giant corporation. They felt that powerful individuals and organisations in Pakistan get away with illegally occupying people’s material property, so what hope would I have with claiming my intellectual property rights.

“But such arguments have only motivated me further to take up this case and fight for my rights, so no other artist in Pakistan has to face such blatant intellectual property rights infringement again.

“Corporations like Coca Cola are very cautious with intellectual property rights issues in western countries and even in India because they know they will be held accountable for any infringements. Yet these same corporations act with complete impunity in Pakistan, believing that they are above the law and can get away with any infringement of intellectual property rights.”

“Such an abuse of the basic rights of artists has resulted in a decay of the arts, which are a hallmark of Pakistani culture. Hence, this is no longer only a personal fight for me but is a fight for the basic right of every artist, writer and performer in Pakistan.”

It’s been over a week since this issue was brought to light in the media. Now that time has passed, does Roy feel differently about pursuing the matter? “This was not a decision that I took in the heat of the moment and it’s not the first time I’ve taken on a challenging case which I feel will propel our society forward,” he says to Icon in a telephonic conversation. “I am a petitioner in the (IG AD Khwaja) police reforms case because I think our civil society has had enough of the lawlessness in Sindh. Similarly, two y ears ago we went to court against everyone who was responsible for the heatwave casualties so that necessary steps can be taken for prevention in consequent years. And so too in this case of IP [Intellectual Property] rights — if Pakistan is to evolve into a modern and progressive society, the arts must be protected and the rights of artists must be safeguarded.”

The entertainment industry has in the past tried to protect their rights by forming unions, but it hasn’t worked so far. Does he think this is a more effective approach? 

“AMPP [Association of Music Professionals of Pakistan] can be a great organisation and my colleagues have worked really hard to build it but it will take time,” he says. “We need record labels in this country to promote music and we need organisations like AMPP to secure artists’ rights because in the absence of both, corporations will take over and sociopolitical music will die because corporations don’t sponsor that.

“When artists have the space to make music independently and their rights are guaranteed, music will flourish in Pakistan,” he continues. “A good example of such a synergy was my campaign Khamoshi Ka Boycott. There need to be checks and balances in every sector to ensure that people can work to their full potential and that is the kind of systemic change that I am hoping for in this case. I hope this will initiate a dialogue towards reform.”

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 28th, 2017