WHEN local singer-songwriter Tanya Chua failed in her court bid in October last year to get her former music publisher to release the rights to her songs, she was devastated.

But she fought on.

The 34-year-old filed an appeal with the High Court and, on Tuesday, tasted sweet victory.

Her joy showed when her lawyer,Mr Samuel Seow, told her they had won the appeal.

It has not yet been confirmed how much in royalties will be returned to Tanya.

Tanya, who is on a work trip in China, said in an SMS to Mr Seow: “That is amazing. I am so happy. We did it. I can’t believe that it is finally over. I am almost in tears.”

Tanya found herself embroiled in a copyright lawsuit with her previous management and record company, Music & Movement, last July.

She had tried to claim back the rights to all the songs she had composed while under contract with the company after the contract ended. Her claims were rejected by the High Court in a closed-door hearing.

She had entered into a three-year contract with Music & Movement in September 2002, and signed over to it the rights to all her works.

She was with the company for five years.

She took it to court after she was unhappy that there were discrepancies in the accounting of the royalty payments to her.

Her mother, Madam Jennie S R Sudjana, who is also her manager, shared her joy.

She told The New Paper in a phone interview yesterday: “I have been praying so hard every day since last year for Tanya to win this because she rightly deserves it.”

Madam Sudjana said her daughter was “very disappointed” to have lost the case last year as she had been waiting for the day when her songs would be “her own”.

“Our hearts are at peace now that we know the good news,” she added.

Sets precedence

Mr Seow said the verdict could open the door for other local artistes who might be in a similar predicament.

What do industry watchers and entertainers think of Tanya’s win?

Singapore Idol judge Ken Lim, who owns and runs music company Hype Records, said: “The relationship between artiste and publisher should be a healthy one, and neither side should be exploiting the other.”

The artiste is the “owner, creator,and originator” of the work, while the publishers are “just representatives” of the artiste, Mr Lim said.

Fellow Singapore Idol judge and songwriter Dick Lee agreed. The composer has “absolute rights” to his or her works, he said.

“So when the artiste works with the publisher, he or she is saying, ‘I am granting you the rights to my song, but ultimately it still belongs to me,’ ” he said.

But Mr Lim hopes that the dispute Tanya had with her former publisher would not deter young local songwriters from signing up with publishers.

“I hope this case reminds songwriters that their works are protected, and they should not be worried about working together with a publisher,” he said.

Local songwriter Hong Junyang, 28, agreed.

“Our works are our original creations, and we treasure them as a sculptor treasures his sculptures,” he said.

Veteran local singer- songwriter Roy Loi believes that a publishing company helps an artiste, especially one who is just starting out.

“When you are a young artiste, you just want people to hear your songs, and publishers provide that avenue,” he said.

But,he added, it is important for the publisher and artiste to properly discuss the terms and conditions of a contract, so that there is no clash of interests.

This article was first published in The New Paper.