Artists in the Nepali music industry rarely rise to fame—those who do are a few of many. This isn’t a fault of the artists, but rather the industry in itself.

The lack of musical literacy among young upcoming artists often leads them to be exploited in the name of exposure. In a conversation with singer and songwriter Sajish Shrestha (VZN), he takes us through the beginning of his musical career. As an 18-year-old fresh out of high school, he was overjoyed to be recruited by a “record label”. Little did he know, record labels rarely exist in Nepal and due to his naivety, he was obligated to spend 3 years of his life being exploited for his art with little to no credit. Learning from his past mistakes, VZN urges all upcoming artists to invest in themselves by independently producing their work instead of going to a studio or a management company.