India's highest-paid singer earns ₹3 crore per song, only sings 'part-time'; it's not Arijit, Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal

With a fees of ₹3 crore per song, this ‘part-time’ singer is India's highest-paid, pipping even stars like Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal, and Sunidhi Chauhan.

Published on: Nov 11, 2024, 14:53:15 IST

By Abhimanyu Mathur

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Lata Mangeshkar created quite the stir in Bollywood in the 60s when she demanded the same remuneration as lyricists and composers in films. Singers were popular but were not paid much. The likes of Mohammed Rafi and Manna Dey charged ₹300 per song at the time. But courtesy of Lata's stand, things changed. As albums gave way to YouTube, eventually streaming, the importance of singers grew manifold. Today, the biggest singers in India can charge lakhs for each song. And yet, one man, who is not even a 'full-time; singer, dwarfs them all. (Also read: Does Diljit Dosanjh charge ₹4 crore per gig? Here's how singer has amassed ₹172-crore net worth)

India's highest-paid singer

AR Rahman is currently the highest-paid singer in India. As per multiple reports, confirmed by industry insiders, Rahman charges a princely sum of up to ₹3 crore for each song he lends his voice to. This is 12-15 times the amount charged by any other singer in India. According to sources, Rahman charges this premium to discourage composers from approaching him. Since he wants to focus on his composition, Rahman almost always sings only his own songs. But whenever he does lend his voice to someone else's composition, the producer has to pay him that premium.

AR Rahman charges the most of any singer in India (AR Rahman's official website)

Other highest-paid singers of India

Among 'full-time' singers, Shreya Ghoshal remains the highest-paid in India. The 40-year-old reportedly charges ₹25 lakh per song she records. Shreya is followed by her contemporary Sunidhi Chauhan in the third spot, who charges between ₹18-20 lakh per song. Arijit Singh also charges the same amount, as per sources.

Sonu Nigam rounds up the top five with a reported fee of ₹15-18 lakh for one song. According to reports, rapper Badshah and singer Diljit Dosanjh have hiked up their fees in recent years and may threaten to enter the top five soon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhimanyu Mathur
Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More

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