Manos Hatzidakis's son denies banning singer Mitsias from performing his songs

George Hatzidakis, the son and estate manager of the late composer Manos Hatzidakis, has issued a statement to address public outcry over a supposed ban on singer Manolis Mitsias performing his father's songs. Hatzidakis clarified that the restriction was never directed at Mitsias personally, nor was it a blanket ban on the song "Giannis the Murderer."

“

I never banned Mr. Manolis Mitsias from singing this particular song. "Giannis the Murderer," like other songs by Manos Hatzidakis, are included in his concerts all these years.

According to Hatzidakis, the prohibition was strictly limited to a specific production company and a particular concert series it was organizing. He asserted that Mitsias has continued to perform "Giannis the Murderer" and other Hatzidakis compositions throughout the years. Hatzidakis suggested that attempts to link the ban to Mitsias and the specific song were a deliberate and misleading effort to misrepresent the facts.

“

The ban had from the outset a completely specific object and concerned exclusively the production company and the specific series of concerts that this company organizes.

He further stressed that all parties involved were aware for months that the production company had not received permission to include Manos Hatzidakis's works in that particular concert series. Hatzidakis also touched upon the ownership of musical works, stating they belong to their creators and their designated representatives, not to performers or the public. He warned that questioning this legally established principle, especially by those in the artistic field, indicates either a lack of knowledge about intellectual property or ulterior motives.

“

Musical works do not belong to the performers who have performed them from time to time, nor are they public property, as I heard some people say.