Singer-lyricist Priya Saraiya, who has lent her voice to Gulabi and Sun Saathiya, is creating awareness about the rights to royalty of composers and lyricists as a committee member of the Indian Performing Rights Society Ltd (IPRS). In a conversation with us, Priya talks about balancing Bollywood and Gujarati music and more. Excerpts:

Priya strongly believes that music creators deserve due recognition for their work. On why bodies like IPRS are the need of the hour, she says, “The amount of music created and consumed now has increased many manifolds over the last few years. Now is the time when music creators across industries realize that they can claim the rights for their music, and earn royalty by reaching out to bodies like IPRS.”

An artiste sitting in the remotest part of the country can become an overnight sensation by simply uploading their music or a video on social media. On being asked how this has helped youngsters, Priya says, “There are so many talented musicians who did not get a platform earlier. Social media has bridged the gap now, especially for small town musicians. Earlier, doing playback in Bollywood was a dream for youngsters – now they can live it.”

Indie music’s comeback has changed the way we consume music. Priya says, “I grew up listening to songs from the ’80s and ’90s. Whenever Bollywood has failed to offer good music, indie music has come to the rescue. The ’90s was not an era of Bollywood music, that’s when Lucky Ali, Palash Sen, Shaan and Kailash Kher released singles and audiences loved the music.”

While her Bollywood songs may have more recall value, Priya is no stranger to the Gujarati music industry. Ask her about how Gujarati music has evolved over the years, and Priya tells us, “There was a time when nothing was working for the Gujarati industry, neither the films, nor the music. I remember when the music of Bey Yaar, and the single Laadki, had released together; that was the moment when the audience knew they wanted good movies and good songs. The best thing is that, language is not a barrier for this generation, which naturally amplifies the reach of any song.”

We ask Priya about her equation with her musician-husband Jigar Saraiya and his partner Sachin Sanghvi, as a fellow artiste. She says, “Jigar and I often discuss music at home. Sometimes when he is confused, I help him. And he chips in when I have a musician’s block. As for sharing constructive and honest feedback with them, yes, I am very frank with them. Why won’t I be? Ultimately, we share that kind of rapport and I can comment on their music. I only want the best for the two of them. Sachin and I share a devar-bhabhi relationship, we are family, so being honest with him isn’t too difficult.”

In a day and age where the success of a song is based on the number of views or hits it garners online, Priya feels that a good song will always find its audience. “Audiences are not fools. If a song is genuinely good, if people really like and enjoy it, it will get real views. If not, the song might have several million views, but they won’t matter after a point of time. The shelf life of a song depends on how long it stays on your playlist.”