Krishna Beurathe singer behind hits like ‘Maula Mere Le Le Meri Jaan’ from Chak De India and ‘Aap Ki Kashish’ from Aashiq Banaya Aapne, recently spoke about the lack of a proper salary structure for singers in Bollywood. He alleged that he was paid only Rs 10,000 for the hit song Chak De India and that he also received the same amount for other popular songs. He further stated that in several cases, They didn’t pay him anything to record songs..
Speaking to Hindi Rush, Krishna said, “There is no fee structure for singers in Bollywood. I say that the singer should have a minimum salary. For example, if you call a singer and make him sit in the studio, you should at least pay him Rs 10,000, they don’t even pay Rs 10,000 to singers. For the song ‘Aap Ki Kashish’, I was paid Rs 10,000. In that too, Rs 900 was cut as TDS. I was paid Rs 10,000 for Chak De India’s song ‘Maula Mere Lele Meri Jaan’ from Yash Raj Films.
He added, “In my 23 years of singing career in the film industry, if I see what I have earned just by singing in films, it will be a big thing if I have Rs 1.5 lakh in this time. Private producers pay, the industry does not pay because it believes that singers will earn from shows and concerts.”
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Krishna further alleged that music composers and major record labels often substitute singers if they ask for remuneration. “You can’t ask for money, because if you do, you won’t get a job next time. Now it doesn’t happen like that anymore, some good people have come into the industry. Try cutting Rs 1,000 from Akshay Kumar. Do you dare to do that?” he said.
He also claimed that only top-notch singers make a lot of money from playback singing in Bollywood, adding that they can charge up to Rs 3 million for a single song. “Only celebrities make money because composers think they can easily sell the song to a music company if a celebrity singer sings the song,” Krishna said.
He continued and added, “I can’t talk about their fees because each person charges according to them. Some charge Rs 5 lakh, some charge Rs 10 lakh and some charge Rs 50 lakh and even charge Rs 3 crore for singing a song. It’s all about demand once you are in demand in the industry. You will get what you ask for.”
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When asked about royalties and whether singers benefit from them, Krishna said, “Royalty doesn’t come to singers. Singers don’t get anything at the end of the day. The only way singers can earn is from shows.”