Arijit Singh charges Rs 2 crore for a performance, would once come and sit in my office for hours, says Monty Sharma: ‘Audio companies are making mad money'

Indian Express

4 days ago

There was a time when Arijit Singh was not a known face. During those days, he would spend hours at music director Monty Sharma's office. Now, with him lending his voice to almost every film that is being made in the Hindi film industry, he charges upto Rs 2 crore per performance. In a recent interview, Monty Sharma shared details about how music composers and singers earn today compared to the older times when an entire song used to be made within Rs 2 lakh budget.
In a conversation with Lallantop, Monty Sharma revealed, 'Everything has evolved over a period of time. Earlier, we used to make a complete song in Rs 2 lakh. This included an entire orchestra–which included 40 violins and a lot of other things. Eventually, when I created a brand name for myself after a couple of my works did well, I started to charge Rs 35,000 per song–irrespective of the other expenses included to make a song.'
Monty shared your brand decides your worth. Explaining his theory, Monty Sharma claimed, 'There was a time when Arijit (Singh) used to come sit next to me for hours without taking any break or eating food. In today's time, he charges Rs 2 crore per performance. People have to pay him Rs 2 crore if they want him to perform for them.'
He said unlike the old times when radios and television were the only means of communication, the introduction of several social media platforms brought a boost in the revenue.
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'Audio rights were sold for crores even then but people heard those songs only through radio and television,' shared Monty Sharma. He explained, 'Today, with so many social media platforms, the exposure is more and the money is humungous. Now, the price for these songs are beyond imagination. A composer might charge Rs 20 lakh per song, but in turn he is giving away 90% of the song rights to the audio company.' He claimed the only people making the most of this opportunity are the audio companies. 'They are making mad money. It is because there are so many aspects to it–spotify, YouTube. Imagine the kind of revenue they are generating.'
Despite all the evolution in the world of music, the earnings of a music composer stays limited, according to the Black composer. 'Because it is the singers who are the face and voice of the song, it is them who earn the most. All these new singers charge Rs 1 to Rs 2 crore for their work.'
Monty shared that artistes today are not just limited to receiving royalty for their work, but reality shows have opened many more doors for a steady income.
He shared, 'Back in my days, when I was part of the reality show, 'Voice of India', I used to charge Rs 7.5 lakh per day. Now, there is no cap to it. There is big money. Reality shows make big money for mentors. Shows bring lot of money to singers.'
Amid all these claims, Monty admitted that not all are lucky to get that kind of exposure. Many in the industry are still struggling. 'Their work is misunderstood. Producers ko samajh hi nahi aata unka kaam.'