Lucky Ali Calls His Music ‘Retired Work,’ Reveals Not Getting Royalties For Years: “There Are No Gains Economically” ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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Lucky Ali – born Maqsood Mahmood Ali- is a well-known singer thanks to Bollywood songs like Ek Pal Ka Jeena, Na Tum Jaano Na Hum, Safarnama, singles, and studio albums. The 64-year-old artist, in a recent chat, got candid about receiving royalties for his music, saying he doesn’t care about it and he pretty much hasn’t received any. He also spoke about making songs as and when he’s inspired to and his retirement plans.
For those who don’t know, recently, ISRA (Indian Singers Rights Association) stated that 25% of all royalty collections would be shared with singers. While the entire Indian Music Industry is rejoicing in the landmark agreement, Ali says he’s unaffected by this development.
During a chat with Hindustan Times, Lucky Ali got candid about royalties and the recent ISRA announcement saying, “I don’t care. I have not gotten my royalties for so many years, so it’s not going to make much of a difference if it happens now.” Talking about what matters, the singer said, “When we stand on stage and our sweat falls on the ground and people give us recognition for that, we get our fees and that all.” He however added, “But I hope they do it because end of the day, so many artistes are believing them and they also hold a responsibility towards them.”
Lucky Ali further stated that this agreement doesn’t really make any difference to artists in the independent music space, and only those connected with music labels will benefit from it. He said, “When you becomes an independent musician, you don’t care about all these things because you are responsible for what you do. If you make a fault, you suffer, if something works out, you get enjoy the benefits. Independent artistes are only getting benefitted in the sense that people are getting more aware of it. There are no gains economically.”
Talking about retirement and making songs when the inspiration hits him, Lucky Ali said, “Music has to be created in yaksui (‘Yaksui’ is said to be the state of mind which has to be achieved to gain higher intelligence knowledge). You can’t force it. Apne hisaab se banta hai… That’s why, with me, there is no pressure like, ‘Oh I am to make a song’. It’s the wrong way. Good results do not come out until you are happy. One needs to unlearn what we know and start all over again. Only then, the results will be beneficial.”
Talking about retiring, the singer quips, “I am retired right from the beginning. Whatever I’m doing is for the love of music that I have. Otherwise, all this is retired work. I have other responsibilities to fulfil and things to look after including my farm, which keeps me very occupied.”
On the musical front, Lucky Ali recently released a new song titled Virtuality from the album Lemalla, in collaboration with Israeli artiste Eliezer Cohen Botzer.
