Lyrics writing
Original lyrics in Hindi and other languages, written to a brief or to an existing tune, properly credited.
Original lyrics written to a brief, or to a tune you already have. Hindi first, and other languages where the song calls for it. One of our released songs is registered in Hindi and Punjabi.
We write for our own catalogue, so we treat a lyric as something that has to survive being sung, registered and paid on, not just read well on a page.
What this covers
Original lyrics, written to your brief
From a theme, a mood, a story or a finished melody. We work to the song rather than handing over something generic with your title dropped in.
Hindi and other languages
Hindi is where most of our catalogue sits. We have released in Punjabi as well. Tell us the language and register you want and we will say plainly whether we are the right people for it.
A fixed number of sessions
You get an agreed number of working sessions with the lyricist, set before we start, so you know what you are buying. Writing to a brief takes conversation, and open-ended revisions serve nobody.
Credited, and registered properly
The writer is named as an author of the work, and the work can be registered at IPRS with the writer shares recorded. This is exactly what we do for our own songs.
What it does not cover
- Uncredited ghostwriting where the writer is erased from the record. We will discuss how credit is presented, but we will not paper a work as though someone else wrote it.
Who owns the song
Decided per project. Tell us which you want and it goes in writing before any work starts.
You own it
We assign the master and the underlying composition to you in writing, with duration and territory stated on the face of the deed. This is the usual arrangement when you are releasing the song yourself.
We own it, you license it
Kashikesh Productions keeps ownership and grants you a licence on agreed terms. Because the master is ours, we can also issue the ISRC on our own IMI registrant code and register the work at IPRS as part of the same job. Worth considering when you want the record made without taking on the paperwork of owning it.
On ISRCs: we can only issue one on our own registrant code for a recording we own, because that is what IMI’s terms allow. If you own the master, the ISRC comes from your distributor or from your own IMI registrant code, which is free to apply for. We are happy to walk you through getting one.
Either way, a writer’s statutory right to royalties cannot be signed away. The fourth proviso to section 18 of the Copyright Act, 1957 makes it non‑assignable and non‑waivable, shared equally with the assignee, and voids any agreement to the contrary. We route it through IPRS, which is the mechanism the section itself contemplates. Anyone offering to buy it off you is offering something the Act does not allow.
Questions
- Will the writer be credited?
- Yes. The writer is named as an author of the musical work and can be registered at IPRS with their share recorded. We do not offer arrangements that erase the writer from the record, because the registration and the royalty flow both depend on authorship being stated correctly.
- Can I buy the lyrics outright?
- You can own the copyright in them, and we will assign it to you in writing. What nobody can sell you is the writer’s statutory royalty share: the fourth proviso to section 18 of the Copyright Act makes it non-assignable and non-waivable and voids any agreement to the contrary. It is routed through IPRS instead.
- Do you write in languages other than Hindi?
- Hindi is our main language and where most of our catalogue sits. We have released in Punjabi too. Ask about anything else and we will tell you honestly whether we can do it justice.
- How many rounds of changes do I get?
- An agreed number of sessions with the lyricist, fixed before we start. We would rather scope that honestly than promise unlimited revisions and then start rationing them once the work is under way.
- Can you write to a melody I already have?
- Yes, and it is often the easier direction. Send the tune, a rough vocal or even a hummed reference, along with what the song is about.
Tell us about the song
What exists already, what you want it to become, and roughly when you need it.
Enquire about lyrics writing