Unlike films, we don’t have a music industry: Salim Merchant

For music composer and singer Salim Merchant, India does not have a music industry! “It’s sad, but true, you know, that people in India consume film music and not independent music. Film music has this quality of swallowing everything and hijacking independent ­artists”, he says.

For music composer and singer Salim Merchant, India does not have a music industry!

Saleem-Merchant-Photo-Courtesy-Twitter-SaleemMerchant

“It’s sad, but true, you know, that people in India consume film music and not independent music. Film music has this quality of swallowing everything and hijacking independent ­artists. I mean, look at Honey Singh. He came in as an ­independent artist and look at him now, making music for films. I think that should answer the question, but I do feel that somewhere in future, we will have a music ­industry,” says Salim, who was in the Capital as a part of Max Life Insurance i - genius.

Salim, one half of the music ­composing duo, Salim-Sulaiman, also maintains that the duo will never reuse an old classic. “We are a country of 1.2 billion. Every seventh human being on this planet is an Indian. So you can imagine the responsibility that a musician has, when it comes to creating original music. Indian classical music is popular everywhere in this world. But it’s sad to see that some of the musicians use an old hit, or rehash a classic, calling it their own ­composition. As far as we, Salim-Sulaiman, are ­concerned, we will never, rehash an old classic,” he says, ­adding, “Until, of course, there is a specific ­purpose to the song. There has to be an objective behind it, and of course in the right way, ­legally.”