“I don’t fear being a human first. I in fact prioritise it. It’s too short a life to think so much,” says singer-composer Amaal Mallik, as he explains his rather impulsive, frequent outbursts on social media, the most recent being about the music industry giving “no royalties or budgets to the creators”. Mallik says barring “a small cream of people” who claim that things are “changing for the better” in the industry, most artistes aren’t even aware about their rights as creators.

“As far as the IPRS and royalties issue goes, half of the creators I’ve had a chat with don’t even know how this functions. They don’t seem to know what they’re justified in asking for,” he says, adding that until six years back, “not one song on any label” from India credited music producers, live musicians or recording and mixing engineers”.

While he feels seniors are hopefully getting their master royalties for film or non-film projects, lack of unity, he rues, newer musicians are falling prey to ethically and legally questionable demands by film producers and music labels. Explaining this further, he says a “film producer or label”, after putting in a certain amount of money and setting a release date, come with “preconceived musical ideas” where they “themselves do not wish for the song” to have a “shelf life” beyond two months. “They look to earn from every possible means in those 60 days and never bother about that song thereafter. Hence, what is approved is substandard, the quality automatically drops,” he says, adding, “Music composers have to do scratches, almost fully produced tracks without any compensation, so a director, producer and label can bank it or put it in their film, but that cost is going from the composer’s pocket. Singers, too, are forced to sing scratches for free and given the usually false incentive, ‘Aapko break de rahe hain’.”

Acknowledging the mafia-like behaviour of music labels, Mallik says the dog-eat-dog nature of the music industry has compelled everyone to succumb to short-term success over longevity. “I have nothing against groupism, but at least make sure what you create stands a chance to meet with some quality,” he adds.