Sonu Nigam Explains Why Classical Music and Ghazals Attract Smaller Audiences
Mumbai–Singer Sonu Nigam says changing musical tastes among younger listeners reflect a broader pattern in which popular art forms attract mass audiences while more specialized genres appeal to smaller groups.
Speaking at a recent event, Nigam compared the arts to a pyramid, with widely accessible forms at the base and more complex disciplines near the top.
“Let me tell you, there is a pyramid or a triangle. There is a triangle in every field. Popular things come at the lowest base. As your art keeps rising, your audience keeps decreasing,” Nigam said.
He used sports as an example, noting that cricket and soccer have large audiences partly because children can play them in small spaces. Sports that require specialized facilities, such as tennis, badminton and table tennis, tend to attract fewer participants and viewers, he said.
Nigam said chess has an even more limited audience because it requires a deeper understanding, and he argued that music follows a similar pattern.
“Rap and popular music are at the base of the pyramid. Everyone can sing rap, and that’s a good thing because people enjoy it,” he said.
Nigam placed film music above those genres, followed by ghazals and bhajans, with classical music at the top.
“Just like chess, classical music requires a deeper understanding. So, you can never expect Ghazals or Bhajans to have the same audience as rap,” he said. “As you elevate your craft, the audience keeps decreasing. That is how it happens.”
Discussing changes in playback singing and live performance, Nigam said music cannot remain static because film soundtracks and audience preferences continue to evolve.
“Music will not always remain the same. The sound of films has changed, and the audience’s taste has also evolved,” he said.
Nigam added that independent music is performing well and offers singers more opportunities to experiment across genres.
“Anyone who wants to sing can explore different genres, whether it is Ghazal, Bhajan, rap, or pop music. So, I believe music as a whole is doing well,” he said. (Source: IANS)
