Difficulties Bangladeshi rock artists faces and why we should pay them more
Music has the ability to make us feel different emotions. It’s a universal language which can bring us together. But for many musicians, making a living from music is a challenge.
Bangladesh has a long history of music. Out of them we can be proud of having a great rock culture here. Bangladeshi rock artists marked their footsteps in such a way that we can’t think without them if we think about Bangla rock. Since independence there are many bands like LRB, Nagar Baul, Miles, Warfaze and many more who have been playing for 2-3 generations. Bands like Aurthohin, Artcell, Black, Nemesis are the current sound of Bangladeshi rock. A report from The Daily Star says, In 2019, “Trainwreck” were the first band from Bangladesh who performed in the world’s biggest heavy metal festival, the Wacken Open Air in Germany. They shared the same stage with bands like Slayer, Anthrax, Prophets of Rage etc. Despite having a long history & great honours Bangladeshi musicians face a lot of difficulties.
There are a few reasons why musicians are underpaid. Firstly, The rise of streaming services has made it easier for people to listen to music. We are paying for music on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music but still most people can download any songs they want for free from the pirated websites. Not so long ago we used to buy pirated CDs. Recently the concert culture in Bangladesh is booming again. After the COVID-19 pandemic many concerts are being held all over the country. This year we are seeing that many artists from abroad are coming to perform here. They are coming at high paying ticket prices like 2000-3000 tk. For the VIPs the ticket price can go up from 5000 to 10000 tk and some of us who have the ability to pay that amount of money are paying for it. On the other hand whenever there is a concert where only the local artists will play, if the ticket prices cross around 1500-2000 tk we say no to pay. We want to stream the songs or attend the concerts for free at cost.
Secondly, musicians don't get enough sponsorships and brand deals. If any event organizer organizes a concert then they have to run for money for months. But if any international artist comes to perform here the brands are ready to give any amounts. A report from The Daily Star, This year a popular indie band, “Dads In The Park” who were the first ever to perform from Bangladesh in the Hammersonic Festival in Indonesia performed on the same stage besides the bands like Slipknot, Trivium, Amon Amarth etc. Still they had to bear their own expenses, seeked sponsorships and brand deals. They had to open a crowdfunding campaign where fans contributed to help fund their performance.
Lastly, the record labels often cut off the profits from the music sales, often they have a lot of control over how much the musician can actually make. Musicians often have to spend a lot of money to get their music out there. This can be a significant financial burden, especially for independent musicians.
Musicians deserve to be paid for their hard work. They spend countless hours writing, rehearsing, recording, and performing their music. They also have to deal with the stress of the music industry, which can be very demanding. But if we invest in our music it can have a great influence in the pop culture world. Today we are influenced by the western culture. Even recently we can see the results of the Korean wave. According to Yonhap News Agency, The economic value generated by K-pop boy band BTS is estimated at around 4 trillion won (US$3.54 billion) annually. It all became possible because of the audience they had to spend for. So if we want to take our music to an international level we should be responsible for it. If we don’t pay respect to our artists and pay respect to the foreign artists, the respect itself will not bring any value.
Music is an important part of our culture. We should support the musicians who create the music that we love. As a Bangladeshi, we take our musicians for granted and I think that’s the main reason not to pay more.
Sources:
Trainwreck to perform at the Wacken Open Air! (2019), The Daily Star, https://www.thedailystar.net/arts-entertainment/news/trainwreck-perform-the-wacken-open-air-1699867
Dads in the Park to perform alongside Slipknot, Trivium (2023), The Daily Star, https://www.thedailystar.net/entertainment/music/news/dads-the-park-perform-alongside-slipknot-trivium-3265431
Yoon-seung, K. (2018), K-pop group BTS's annual economic value estimated at 4 tln won: report, Yonhap News Agency, https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20181218003600320
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