Jasleen Royal: I don’t want to work with music labels anymore

Singer-songwriter Jasleen Royal reveals that she does not want to work with music labels anymore and invest in independent songs instead.

Singer-songwriter Jasleen Royal, who recently released her independent single, Heeriye, expresses her firm decision to break free from music labels, and take ownership of her creative content. She highlights the prevalent issue in the music industry where artistes lack control over their own work, facing the unfortunate reality of having their songs remixed without due credit.

Jasleen Royal on not working with music labels anymore

“I don’t want to work with music labels anymore,” she retorts, adding, “It’s sad that in our country, artistes don’t have any ownership on the content they create. And then, the songs are remixed and your name is just removed from the composer credits. Someone else comes and just changes the beat or adds one new line, and becomes the new composer of the song and gets all the credit. I find it really unfair and I don’t want to be a part of it.”

Determined to take matters into her own hands, Royal shares her vision of mounting projects independently, despite the considerable money required. The 32-year-old states, “I am aware it is a big investment, but that’s what I have to do now. So, you would see more of my independent songs coming up, but in a much grand way. It doesn’t mean if it’s an Indie track, then it has to be small.

Reflecting on whether things have improved after the royalty agreement, Royal reveals that the situation remains inconsistent even today. “No, nothing has changed. Sometimes you get (royalty), sometimes you don’t. So, independent artistes still face challenges when it comes to the rightful ownership over their creations,” says the singer, who has crooned hits such as Ranjha (Shershaah; 2021), Din Shagna Da (Phillauri; 2017), Nachde Ne Saare (Baar Baar Dekho; 2016) among many others.

Another thing that bothers the singer about the Indian music scene is the perception of artistes where they are only considered as playback voices and never get to be in the spotlight.

Expressing that she wishes to change the status quo, she asserts, “All around the world, songwriters, composers, and singers are the faces of the song. It’s only here, in India, that we are on the backfoot, which is slowly changing. Even in the 90s, maestros like Lucky Ali, and AR Rahman were the faces of their songs. In the middle, we were a bit lost, and I think people didn’t see merit in it, but after the whole digitalisation, that is back on track. Now, most people are doing that, and that’s the way it is supposed to be.”

And therefore, with a clear vision for her future, Royal emphasises her desire to be the face of her independent songs. “I am more interested in leading my song, and giving it the grandness and mounting it the way it should be, and not be dependent on films and actors.”