Arijit Singh announced his exit from playback singing recently, leaving fans heartbroken. His decision has sparked a discussion around the pros and cons of singing careers in the film industry. Amid this, Abhijeet Sawant explained how singers tend to get exploited in the industry.
Abhijeet Sawant on singers not getting enough money
Continuing the debate on whether playback singers receive fair remuneration and recognition in the industry, Sawant shared that people have reservations about singers getting more attention than the films.
The Indian Idol 1 winner was asked about the pay structure in the film music industry recently. Appearing on Pentarise Studios' YouTube channel, 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."
He 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."
When did Arijit Singh announce retire from playback singing
On January 27, Arijit Singh took to social media and announced his retirement from playback singing.
His post read, "Hello, Happy new year to all. I want to thank you all for giving me so much of love all these years as listeners. I am happy to announce that I am not gonna be taking any new assignments as a playback vocalist from now on. I am calling it off. It was a wonderful journey."
Several singers, including Shreya Ghoshal, extended support after Singh's decision.
Ghoshal said on social media, “It’s the start of a new phase of @arijitsingh and I am truly excited to hear, listen, and experience what this genius churns out! I can never call this the end of an era. An artist of his calibre can never be defined by the traditional means and medium and be boxed in to fit in the set formula. Time to soar higher, my dear Arijit.”
Arijit Singh's work
Arijit Singh's latest work is the song Maatrubhumi, also featuring Shreya Ghoshal. The track is a part of Salman Khan's upcoming film Battle of Galwan.
