The shocking claims and confessions about the music industry have been emerging in the wake of Arijit Singh's retirement from playback singing. Indian Idol 1 winner and singer Abhijeet Sawant has made some shocking revelations about how the singers are often exploited. He also spoke about being underpaid, which makes sustaining a livelihood difficult. Even today, musicians still don’t receive royalties for film music. Read on to find out what else Abhijeet said that left everyone buzzing.
In a recent appearance on Pentarise Studios’ YouTube channel, Abhijeet Sawant was asked about the remuneration structure in film music. He opened up about how singers rarely get paid what they deserve.
He said, "People don’t want the singers to become bigger than the film itself. That’s why they are paid a certain amount. Musicians still don’t receive royalties for film music. So Biddu, who worked on Lafzon Mein, also did a couple of songs in the West, and he gets so much royalty payment from those two songs that he can survive his whole life on that money. We don’t even get enough money to sustain our livelihood."
Citing the system as a major reason behind the exploitation of singers who fear losing opportunities, Abhijeet Sawant added, "They have created a system like that. Singers are themselves greedy for opportunities, and they know that ‘if this song gets released in my voice, with some big star lip-syncing. Then I can use this song for my entire life.’ Singers themselves don’t want money, because they just want to sing the song or work with a certain producer. We accept whatever amount we get, because if we don’t do it, someone else will. We get exploited a lot."
ALSO READ: Is Arijit Singh Taking Temporary Break From Playback Singing To Become A Film Director?
Abhijeet Sawant's statement came at a time when the nation was already buzzing about the reasons behind Arijit Singh’s decision to step away from playback singing.
Arijit announced his retirement from playback singing on January 27, stating he would continue making music as a 'small little artist'.
View this post on Instagram
ALSO READ: Vishal Bhardwaj Calls Arijit Singh’s Playback Exit ‘Unacceptable,’ Urges Him To Reconsider
Ever since Tum Hi Ho from Aashiqui 2 in 2013, Arijit rose to overnight fame and cemented his status as one of the most celebrated playback vocalists in the Indian film industry.
Meanwhile, Sawant gained widespread recognition after winning Indian Idol season 1 and rose to fame with his 2005 debut song Mohabbatein Lutaunga.