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Aditya Narayan speaks out against music labels

Aditya Narayan is taking a stand against music labels who take advantage of singers and musicians in India by pursuing his craft as an independent artist.

“From the time corporatisation happened (in the music industry), music labels have started signing contracts with singers. They want artistes to serve them. They cut a certain percentage from our live gigs and assignments. I am not okay with that system,” Narayan told IANS.

“I am a singer and a musician at heart, and music is in my soul, but we live in a different era – way different from what my father and the earlier generation of singers lived in – whether it is Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu Nigam, Sunidhi (Chauhan) di, Papa (Udit Narayan) and his contemporaries, they were friends and lived like a family,”, he shared, adding, “They would collaborate with music directors and experience success and failure together. Those things are over now.”

Narayan recognizes that making music independently is difficult, which is why he relies on his successful TV career to support his musical pursuit, “To fight a system so strong, I need to have money and backing to put out songs independently. So I am hosting television shows and live gigs. I am really fortunate to be one of the highest-paid TV entertainers. For me, independent music means a group of artistes writing, composing and performing a song by themselves without the control of a music label.”

He hopes to use his position to make the industry a better place for other musicians, “I want to usher change, and I know I have to work tirelessly for that.”

Narayan can currently be seen on ‘Khatra Khatra Khatra’, which airs on Colors TV.