A lot has been said about the music industry after Sonu Nigam posted a video accusing the ‘music mafia’. Artists like Salim Merchant, Adnan Sami, and Monali Thakur spoke about how the industry is monopolistic and celebrate mediocrity.
Joining the conversation, Sona Mohapatra recently took to Twitter to spell out the problematic aspects of the music industry. She talks about gender disparity in the industry, lack of variety and quality in the produced music, and the unwillingness to nurture talented artists.
Have a look at her tweets here:
1.
Did anyone care that #SonuNigam publicly defended a multiple accused @IndiaMeToo predator Anu Malik & now claims to being in the possession & yet suppressing a video with incriminating evidence of another case? Do we really want the industry to get better? #LetsTalk #India. 🙏🏾🧚🏿♀️
— Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) June 26, 2020
2.
The Indian music industry has always been a subset,an extension of the film industry & hence places too much emphasis on film music & mirrors the systemic problems of the film industry too.This has created a chronic lack of variety, quality & cultural influence in the recent past
— Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) June 26, 2020
3.
.. strangling any chance that real upcoming talent has considering a handful call the shots with bullies leading the pack. Almost everyone in the entertainment industry, no matter how rich or successful, seems to have a ‘struggler’ mindset, they refuse to feel secure. (3)
— Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) June 26, 2020
4.
This has led to a myopic, short term view of the overall future of growing the industry because that can only happen by nurturing genuine talent of many hues & investing in the stars of tomorrow. Veterans like Sonu could help by being helpful to other upcoming talent too. (4)
— Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) June 26, 2020
5.
The gatekeepers,tastemakers of the industry would only benefit by adopting more inclusive practices that welcome diversity. The gender disparity itself is telling, there are no more than 8 odd songs in female voices for every 100 released in the mainstream. (5)
— Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) June 26, 2020
6.
This, from the industry that spawned titans like Lata Mangeshkar & Asha Bhosle is sad ? (6)
— Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) June 26, 2020
Sona Mohapatra does make quite a few good points via her tweets. While this is a problem that can be fixed from within the industry, what we as an audience can do is listen, support, and promote artists who aren’t getting their due credit and recognition.