Following the announcement of Arijit Singh’s retirement from playback singing, Indian Idol 1 winner Abhijeet Sawant has voiced concerns over the treatment meted out to playback singers in India and alleged inadequate remuneration for their contributions to films that go on to make several crores.

Sawant won the first season of Indian Idol in 2005, the same year Arijit Singh made his first TV appearance as a contestant in Fame Gurukul, another singing reality show on Sony TV.

During an interaction with Harshall Kamat on podcast Kya Dekhti Public recently, Sawant shared his unfiltered thoughts on music, fame, politics, life, and everything in between.

“People don’t want the singers to become bigger than the film itself. That’s why they are paid a certain amount,” Sawant said.

Sawant gained widespread recognition following his 2005 debut with the song Mohbaten Lutaunga after becoming a household name with Indian Idol.

Discussing the disparity in royalty earnings, Sawant shared, “Musicians still don’t receive royalties for film music. So Biddu (Biddu Appaiah), 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.”

“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,’” Sawant further explained.

“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,” Sawant added.

Arijit’s retirement from playback singing came as a shocker for fans and industry colleagues, with many including filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj requesting him to reconsider his decision.

In his statement about retiring from playback singing on January 27, Arijit said he would continue working on independent music.

Arijit shot to overnight fame with Tum Hi Ho from Aashiqui 2 (2013), a song that cemented his status as the voice of a new generation of Bollywood romance.

The success of the track opened the floodgates to a string of chartbusters, including Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (title track), Hawayein, Apna Bana Le, Ve Maahi, Sajni, Gehra Hua and Kesariya, among many others.

Arijit, a four-time Grammy Award winner, launched his independent label Oriyon Music in July 2020. His statement that he will keep creating music has given fans hope for more independent tracks.