Top Drawer/Sanjay Tandon

You could call him the head of the music police. As the general manager of Indian Performing Rights Society IPRS, Sanjay Tandon is the custodian of the music world8217;s most precious possession 8212; copyrights. Established in I969, IPRS is the only intellectual property rights society in the country to control, enforce and administer copyrights in music on behalf of composers, music directors, song writers, music companies and producers.

Tandon joined the society in 1990, and has been closely involved with the copyright movement in India and abroad since the last decade. quot;IPRS is affiliated to 160 copyright societies around the globe, and holds the public performing rights, not only for Indian music, but for the entire international repertoire of music. This means that we are supposed to have the details of every song that exists not only in India but throughout the world. Efficient documentation of member details and tracks, on the basis of which we distribute royalties to music owners, is therefore crucialto this line. At the same time since ours is a music related field, it is also important to have a lively and distinct office ambience.quot;

Heading a pivotal organisation like IPRS entails a gruelling work schedule. quot;The day goes by in a flurry of meetings, counselling sessions with clients seeking information on the various aspects of copyright laws and coordination activities with various governmental committees with which we are affiliated.quot;

So how does he organise his frenetic professional life? quot;If you happen to open the first drawer of my desk you would find a lot of cheques and other papers relating to money. But personally I dislike writing and do not use much paper. In fact, I am trying to make the office virtually paper-free.

The one item I simply cannot function without is my digital diary, which helps me to chart out the day8217;s agenda and keep track of previous appointments. Since I travel a lot, my international roaming mobile phone is also an indispensable professional aid. In fact, togetherthese two items are as good as a complete mobile office for me.quot;