Sonam Kalra on the Challenges Artists Are Facing During Lockdown

Sonam Kalra opens up on nepotism and favouritism in the music industry.

Sonam Kalra on nepotism and favouritism in music industry.

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Singer and composer Sonam Kalra has released a new track titled ‘लोगDOWN song’. It is a light-hearted yet poignant commentary on the difficulties faced by musicians as a result of the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking to The Quint, the singer says that during lockdown artists have been asked to perform for free – disrespecting the art.

“One of the biggest reasons for me to develop this song was that all artists are constantly receiving requests to perform for free during this lockdown. I mean it is a job and people need to feed their families. Most of my accompanying artists have families of four to five that they need to feed. And for people to call up and ask us to perform for free is not only disrespectful to the art, it’s extremely ludicrous,” she says.

Sonam adds that she didn’t want to do the video as a call for help but she wanted to call out people and make them realise how difficult it has been for artists too. The singer also opened up about the recent nepotism debate and Sonu Nigam calling out the big music companies.

“Nepotism and favouritism are never ok. However, I have seen enough cases where a complete outsider can come in and make a difference. There is nepotism, favouritism, there is a lot of sucking up one has to do but these are choices you make,” she said.