When music spoke

on Friday, November 18, the Eros hotel in Nehru Place, New Delhi, witnessed a plethora of Indian musicians from various genres speaking on a range of subjects. The series of conference and workshops were organised as a part of the ongoing 100 Pipers India Music Week festival.

To begin with, members of electro-dance band Teddy BoyKill, Akshat Nauriyal and Samrat Bhardwaj, vocalist of Faridkot, IP Singh, and vocalist of Demonic Resurrection, Sahil Makhija, sat down to discuss how Indians are discovering new music these days. Bhardwaj started off the talk, exclaiming, “There were no outlets for music in India, 15-20 years ago. We readily consumed music brought from Dubai and America. Now there is a plethora of options and thanks to internet, we can share it virtually. Earlier on, it used to be an expensive hobby, now one can carry more than 10,000 albums in his mp3 player.” According to Singh, “Back in the day, the major source of music was Bollywood and the late 90s pop culture. Now, although there is no escaping reality that music is downloadable and the independent Hindi music scene is dominated by Bollywood, in recent times, there are more gigs for classical and Indian music.”

“Heavy metal CDs of bands like Pantera and Sepultura were readily available in Mumbai early on,” Makhija spoke of his city. “Headbanger’s ball and a couple of radio shows were also good sources for metal heads,” he added. Makhija points out that internet is a double-edged sword. “The experience of listening to music has changed. Earlier, we trusted the judgment of our friends when it came to listening to music, now we just follow what youtube or other websites choose for us in the referred play list.”

But according to Samrat, “Now there is more availability for people who used to consume music via music stores. People are now putting it online to be shared.”

Just then, Nauriyal joined the discussion and stated, “Internet is the largest democratic means available now and your content can get aggregated quickly. There are quite a few artistes online and internet gives a chance to all who are trying to do something on their own. There is nothing marketed in a glossy way, what you hear is what you get.”

Makhija also pointed out how internet has also changed the way music is produced these days and how artistes have a lot to lose now. “People make their mind about music in the first 10 seconds of hearing a track.”

In the end, Bhardwaj stated that for any artiste out there, internet will only take him or her so far, because “Playing live is important – popularity is viral and follows through once you make a mark and perform live.”

Ehsaan Noorani’s candid workshop on ‘Surviving as a musician in India’ followed next. He told us how he started playing guitar while trying to finish school. He then studied music formally — music education, he stressed, is important for today’s musicians. One of the first ‘tips’ he had to offer was “Don’t limit yourself to only one genre, keep an open mind.” For instance, according to Noorani, “Within India, a musician must try and crack the Hindi genre.”

Noorani also felt that a musician should “know the music business well. One has to put out his songs, collect revenue and be aware of the market.” He also placed a lot of emphasis on social networking.