The recently held MTV Brrr Awards fumbled on almost every count. From a bad case of mismanagement to a dead red carpet, the secret music jury, last minute additions to nominations, some bizarre wins, the lack of a media shebang, awful hosting, shoddy DAT performances, few live but badly sounding performances and an unusually high focus on international 'stars' (read: has-been British-Asian acts), it was a disappointment of epic proportions.

There was one silver lining to the show, though. The deal that was struck between Pakistan's giant record label, Fire Records and a bunch of music channels that currently includes Aag, MTV Pakistan, Oxygen and Play. Talks with Oye are ongoing as this article goes into print.

The deal is the licensing of music. In simpler terms, it refers to the royalties that music channels will pay to the biggest record label, Fire Records, in Pakistan for playing its music content. It is an alliance of sorts and a necessary one, which may finally bring some form of legal laws into our slip shod music release mix.

If MTV Brrrr Awards did one thing right, it was the timing. They became the catalyst in an ongoing process - royalties for music - that finally took a leap to the next level.

When the nominations were released, MTV had sent letters (to indemnify them) to various musicians who were nominated and many of whom are tied to Fire Records. Musicians like Ali Zafar, Atif Aslam and Strings who were approached, while speaking with Instep, revealed that they did not sign these letters. Meanwhile Fire Records maintained that MTV needed permission to use their content in the awards show. At the eleventh hour, a deal was finally struck, thereby making the use of all content from Fire Records legal.

The show may be unforgettable for its sheer scale of disastrous mistakes but it propelled the issue of licensing into the forefront. Copyrights remain in shadows while everyone pickpockets. Music videos run on local airwaves for free while musicians and record labels remain in a crunch.

Music videos are content and the bill cannot be footed by (a) the musician alone without remuneration from channels as well as other media outlets such as radio channels (b) record labels who are investing in any artist by producing their video and (c) both. Investment is necessary for the music industry to create some form of a business model.

When did your heart go missing?

Is there skepticism? Absolutely. What about the musicians? The musicians will benefit from this deal too and it will propel the industry towards some semblance of structure. Artists often opt for upfront, lump sum deals with record labels because they are aware that copyright laws are neglected. A free ride is no longer an option. If channels pay, whatever the sum, it will eventually enable artists with more options. It will also give record labels an incentive to continue investing in not just established artists but upcoming talent too.

Ali Azmat is a man who must be mentioned. He remains the only artist with Fire Records who did not sell off his rights to the record label. As a result, he owns his songs. Ali opted for a royalty based deal and only gave distribution rights. He maintains it and so does Fire Records CEO Doctor Akbar Yezdani.
But a chuck of artists have, as Doctor Akbar Yezdani puts it, "We've purchased their rights and in exchange paid a lump sum." Now the sum may vary from artist to artist, their market worth, star power, public demand among other factors but the gist remains the same.