Abhijeet Sawant has opened up about the financial struggles faced by singers in the Indian music industry.

Speaking in a recent chat, the 44-year-old singer admitted that playback singers are often underpaid even though their voices help make films and songs successful.

In an interview with Pentarise Studios’, the former Indian Idol winner addressed the issue of royalties and compensation, saying, "People don’t want the singers to become bigger than the film itself. That’s why they are paid a certain amount. Musicians still don’t receive royalties for film music."

He continued, "So Biddu, who worked on Lafzon Mein, also did a couple of songs in the West, and he gets so much royalty payment from those two songs that he can survive his whole life on that money. We don’t even get enough money to sustain our livelihood."

Moreover, he mentioned that tough competition for opportunities often forces singers to accept lower pay, which keeps the system the same.

Meanwhile, explaining how many artists compromise for visibility and long-term recognition, he added, “They have created a system like that. Singers are themselves greedy for opportunities, and they know that ‘if this song gets released in my voice...We accept whatever amount we get, because if we don’t do it, someone else will. We get exploited a lot."

Notably, the Junoon hitmaker's remarks come shortly after Arijit Singh informed fans through a post on X that he would no longer be taking new playback assignments.