Soumya Jha

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA under Arts Platforms will create a podcast series exploring the intersection of copyright law and art. Hosted by a lawyer and musician, it will leverage the uniqueness of human voice as an art tool, which is common to podcasts, vocal music and resonant legal rhetoric. Soumya Jha is the Coordinator for this project. 

Soumya Jha is an advocate with the Bar Council of India, holding an LLM in International and Comparative Law from the National University of Singapore and an LLB from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University. She was awarded a full scholarship for her LLM and secured an A grade in a certificate course on Intellectual Property Rights and Information Technology. In addition to her legal background, Soumya has a strong presence in independent music. She completed a Certificate Course in Music Production from the Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication, New Delhi in 2023, which deepened her understanding of music, as a singer-songwriter. As a musician, she was the lead vocalist for the band Zinc, which was featured in Rolling Stone magazine. She also founded the a cappella group Street Cred, which collaborated with the social justice enterprise Justice Adda. Given Soumya’s experience, she is best placed to be the Project Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA.

The project will aim to create a virtual arts platform in the form of a podcast series to explore the intersection of art and law. This art platform will recognise that art can make the law more accessible, while the law is essential for protecting artists' rights. However, artists often face difficulties navigating complex legal frameworks, which can lead them to be confused in entering contracts or even losing rights over their own work. This art platform will seek to address this gap by providing a space for discussion in order to build a more informed artist community. The podcast series, hosted by the project coordinator Soumya Jha, a lawyer and musician, is designed to be a five-episode series, with each episode lasting 60 minutes each. Each episode will feature two guests, an artist and a law expert, to provide a comprehensive perspective on a specific theme. The first segment will focus on the artist's journey and previous experiences with regard to navigations through contracts, while the second segment will dive into specific experiences with legal issues. The final segment will offer practical tips and learnings for both artists and aspiring legal professionals.

The human voice is a central art tool in the proposed podcast series, connecting the project coordinator Soumya Jha's dual expertise as a lawyer and musician. She views the voice as a powerful tool, capable of conveying emotion and guiding discourse in both musical performances and legal arguments. She notes the similarity between courtroom architecture and church interiors as musical spaces, drawing a parallel between these formal spaces and her training in gospel music. This synergy between her two disciplines will help her in forging complementary skills. As a podcast host, which is a voice-centric medium, she plans to artistically leverage this unique combination of musical and legal skills to present a narrative that is conversational, factual, and empathetic, ensuring the content is both structured and engaging for the project’s audience.

Each of the five episodes will be based on a distinct theme. The proposed topics include "The Independent Music Industry in India, "Folk Music," "AI and Art," "Navigating contracts, protecting designs under law," and "Writer". Potential guests include music producer Gaurav Chintamani, photographer Ankush Maria, and author Sanjay Chandra, who will share insights on topics such as AI and photography, contractual issues, and navigating the industry as a senior citizen writer. The podcasts will explore how artists from different backgrounds interact with the law, providing unique perspectives specific to their contexts. 

A key partner in this project is Justice Adda, a social enterprise that makes conversations about law and justice more accessible. They will provide crucial support for project research assistance, social media engagement, and the creation of promotional materials. A major part of their contribution will be the development of visually engaging infographics that consolidate key information and actionable insights from each podcast episode. These infographics will be published on Justice Adda's website and social media channels to disseminate information effectively and widely.

The outcomes of the project will be a series of podcasts that will demystify, and simplify copyright law and art, to make the information more accessible to artists, through discussions between law experts and artists. The Project Coordinator's deliverables to IFA, along with the final report, will include podcast episodes, along with corresponding infographics and social media posts. 

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Practice programme in the manner in which it attempts to build a virtual arts platform, creating a network of artists, and establish a comprehensive repository of art-related legal information, acting as a baseline to introduce artist audiences to discussions on copyright and art in India. 

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.