AR Rahman frowns at remixes: You can’t reimagine people’s work without their permission

Mysuru: Music director AR Rahman performs at the ‘Yuva Dasara’ event, in Mysuru, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Composer AR Rahman has taken umbrage to songs being remixed and reprised without due permission.

Rahman has, over the past three decades, delivered some of the most enduring and original tunes in Indian cinema. In recent years, his compositions have been remixed or ‘reimagined’ by newer artists in films and albums.

In a recent interview with The Week, Rahman was asked about composers grappling with copyright issues.

“I believe in always following certain ethics,” the Oscar-winning musician said. “You can’t take a song from a movie and use it in another movie six years later, saying you are reimagining it. You can’t reimagine people’s work without their permission. You could post it on Instagram, but certainly not make it mainstream.”

Rahman also pointed to the misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the music industry. While open to ethical applications of AI in his field, he seemed concerned about composers not getting paid for their creations.

“An even bigger evil is people misusing AI and not paying the composer even if they are borrowing his style. We need to bell this cat, because it could lead to major ethical issues. People could lose jobs.

In my opinion, AI should be used to tackle challenges that human beings procrastinate on―like (improving) the justice system, infrastructure and education, and empowering the underprivileged,” Rahman was quoted as saying in The Week.