- Arijit Singh announced his retirement from playback singing on January 27
- Arijit’s exit raises concerns about retention of top and lesser-known singers in films
- Abhijeet Sawant highlighted playback singers do not receive royalties from films
Arijit Singh announced his retirement from playback singing a couple of days ago. The singer's decision has once again drawn attention to long-standing concerns about how singers are paid in the film industry. His exit has raised questions about an industry that appears unable to retain its biggest voices and what this means for lesser-known artists who have far less influence and bargaining power.
The debate gained further momentum after singer Abhijeet Sawant recently spoke about the issue. He spoke about whether playback singers receive fair remuneration and recognition for their contribution to films.
What Abhijeet Sawant Said
Appearing on Pentarise Studios' YouTube channel, Abhijeet was asked about the remuneration structure in film music. After some hesitation, 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."
About Arijit Singh's Playback Exit
On January 27, Arijit took to social media to announce his retirement from playback singing.
He wrote, "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."
Arijit Singh made the announcement just days after the release of Maatrubhumi, a song he recorded with Shreya Ghoshal for Salman Khan's upcoming film Battle of Galwan.
Also Read: 'Arijit Singh Wanted To Assist Me In Barfi,' Says Director Anurag Basu After Singer's Playback Retirement