By The Pulseline News Desk
Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Integration Vijitha Herath has dismissed claims circulating on social media that people will be required to pay fees for singing songs at weddings and hotels under Sri Lanka’s intellectual property laws.
Herath has said the claims, widely circulated on Facebook, had distorted recent discussions on ensuring that singers, musicians and other creators receive compensation when their work is used commercially.
He has clarified that the issue concerns commercially organised musical events where tickets are sold and copyrighted songs are performed for profit, rather than private functions such as weddings.
According to Herath, the Association of Creators and Publishers of Sri Lanka (ACPOSL) has argued that original creators should receive an appropriate share of the revenue when their works are used at such profit-making events.
Herath has said he had contacted ACPOSL directly after the social media claims emerged in order to establish what the organisation had actually proposed.
“There is no such thing as having to pay money for singing songs at weddings or hotels. The information shared on Facebook claiming that songs cannot be sung at weddings without payment is incorrect,” he has said, adding that the proposed payments should not be interpreted as a blanket requirement covering people who sing songs at weddings, hotels or other ordinary social gatherings.
Instead, the discussion centres on situations where music is used as part of a ticketed commercial event, generating income for organisers while the creative works performed form part of the event’s commercial value.
The Minister has said the issue also needs to be viewed in the broader context of protecting the rights of artists and creators.
Singers and musicians have for years called for stronger recognition of the economic value of their creative work, particularly when songs are reproduced or performed commercially without adequate compensation to the original creators.
The clarification comes amid growing discussion over intellectual property rights in Sri Lanka, with social media claims about proposed payments prompting confusion over whether ordinary wedding and hotel functions would be subject to new charges.
Herath’s comments indicate that the focus of the current discussion is commercial exploitation of copyrighted musical works rather than restrictions on ordinary singing at private events.
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