As the hit song ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ celebrates its third year of popularity, music composer Santhosh Narayanan revealed that he and the artists involved in the making of the track did not receive any money from the label that released it. In a video shared on Tuesday, March 5, he alleged that they reached out to the label, but in vain, and added that he will be setting up his own studio to ensure that indie artists are paid their dues.
Starting the video on a celebratory note, Santhosh thanked listeners for making ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ a success. “We were approached [by the record label] saying that we would own 100% of the rights, revenues, and royalties from the song. The song connected well and it had over a billion streams cumulatively across all platforms. I wanted to spill the beans on how much we have received in net income or revenue to date. We received a whooping zero cents from this song!” he said.
‘Enjoy Enjaami’ was released in 2021 by Maajja, an independent record label based out of Toronto and Chennai. It was composed by Santhosh, and sung and performed by Arivu and Dhee. The track became an instant viral sensation among listeners. Maajja was founded by three Canadian entrepreneurs in collaboration with AR Rahman, and they are yet to respond to Santhosh’s allegations.
Without naming the label, Santhosh added in his video, “Unfortunately, we have tried to reach out to the label on behalf of the artists, some of them are world-renowned, and we are yet to receive any of the revenue. I am starting my own studio because of this. I want indie artists to have a transparent platform where they can publish their work and earn revenues.”
Santhosh also pointed out that the label is still receiving revenue from his YouTube channel. “This has been going on forever. This is also one of my first posts on the topic and I just want to say that I am here for the indie artists and will make sure that your dues are cleared,” he said.
‘Enjoy Enjaami’ was also in the news earlier for controversy about its credits and alleged appropriation. Santhosh Narayanan was credited for composing the song during the 44th Chess Olympiad held in Chennai in 2022. During the event, the song was performed by Dhee and Kidakuzhi Mariyammal, and Arivu took to social media to say that he had written, composed, and performed the song.
Shortly after Arivu’s statement, Dhee, who is also Santhosh’s step-daughter, took to social media and said that the song was a collaborative effort and that she had always credited the rapper. Santhosh further underlined this by saying that in 2020, Dhee had an idea for a song that he composed, recorded, and co-sang, which was later released in 2021 as ‘Enjoy Enjaami’.
Later, an EDM version of ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ was released by singer Dhee and DJ Snake on Spotify — which was also streamed on the Times Square Billboard last year — and here too, Arivu was excluded from the video. This was again condemned by many who argued that Arivu’s erasure from his own track was ‘appropriative’.
Read: Rolling Stone India, Maajja must answer tough questions over Arivu’s erasure