‘THERE IS FAVOURITISM WHEN IT COMES TO MUSIC LABELS CHOOSING ARTISTES’
Music composer duo Salim Sulaiman have been part of the Indian music industry for almost three decades, and without having any inside connections in the industry, they managed to make a mark. Hence, they find themselves on the opposite side of the favouritism debate.
But while Sulaiman believes “hard work is everything”, his brother and the other half of the duo, Salim, agrees that favouritism does exist in this industry much like it does in every other sector. “There is favouritism when it comes to labels giving opportunities to artistes who are signed with them, and that is fair. It’s their business model, but it’s not fair to artistes who are amazing. And that’s why, we have started a record label for a beautiful creative community to come together where we give equal chances to known and unknown singers,” says Salim.
Since the lockdown, a lot of singles have released and done relatively better. Sulaiman feels that the non-existence of Bollywood music for almost four months has helped the genre. “Earlier, producers released songs to enhance their films, but now, no Bollywood music is releasing either, and that’s given a great window of opportunity for independent musicians to showcase their music on various platforms,” adds Sulaiman.
The duo’s new single titled Beech Raaste has crossed one million views on YouTube and the composers feel that though the lockdown has a lot of negative aspects, “it’s a great time to make music”. “Things are going to be a little difficult for composers and performers, but we just have to reinvent ourselves,” signs off Salim.