PALAKKAD: The reality shows bring overnight fame and money to participants, but only a few singers are able to keep themselves levelheaded and pursue their talent to greater heights, singer Unni Menon has said. He was speaking at a press meet organised by the Palakkad Press Club here on Friday.
Asked if he had anything to advise to the new crop of singers, he replied in the negative saying “many yesteryear singers had to learn from their younger ones. The present generation of singers are technologically advanced. They have abundance of talent and know the market well. They also have a wonderful platform to showcase their talent,” he said.
Asked about the controversy of the singers claiming royalty, Unni Menon said the Supreme Court had ruled that under the Copyright Act apart from the producer and the music director, the singer was also entitled to a share. “In the past producers were of the view that only they could claim the royalty of the songs. The Indian Singers Rights Association (ISRA) strongly stood for the rights of the singers in this regard,” he said.
He pointed out that the remuneration in the Malayalam film industry is very low and many singers do not acknowledge it.
“Even established singers get a pittance. On the other hand, in the Tamil film industry, the singers manage to get a respectable remuneration,” he said.
But the fact is that with the advancement of technology, a situation has arisen where a particular singer is not necessary. And the singers are not even called for the promotion of their songs, he said. He said that he happened to become a singer by chance. “It was Benny Master of the BEM school in Palakkad who spotted my talent and encouraged it. i have always maintained contact with him, he said.