To Tackle The Challenges Industry Is Facing, Speaking To Consumers Is Very Essential: Vikram Mehra, MD, Saregama India

A two-day Music Inc 3.0 Virtual Summit was organized on 20 and 21st June in association with Loudest.in, exchange4media, and BW Businessworld. Celebrating the World Music Day on 21st June, the virtual summit had several panel discussions and keynote addresses on both the days attended by major players from the music industry. 

Vikram Mehra, MD, Saregama India commented on the impacts the music industry has faced due to pandemic said, “The speed of change might have changed but the change is always there.” He strongly believed that to tackle the challenges the industry is facing, speaking to consumers is very essential. Speaking further on the change, Lloyd Mathias, Business Strategist & Angel Investor informed that the people’s ability to receive streaming services has increased many folds. Also, because of the lockdown and the need to maintain social distancing, physical live events are all either canceled or postponed. Yuri Dokter, Founder & CEO, DJ Monito stated about the issue: "The ones who are really hurt are the people who work at the events." 

In fact, all industry experts agree unequivocally that online platforms are greatly revolutionizing music consumption during the lockdown period. Famous Rapper, Pop Singer, Music Composer & Film Actor Honey Singh gave his perspective: “From the music industry's perspective, it doesn't matter where you are working from, the only thing that matters is your work." Honey Singh shared that he is going to make music on the recent incidents that happened. He also shared, “I try to hang out with youngsters to catch their pulse because it keeps on changing."

In fact, during the lockdown period, music artists and fans have come together and shared time over social media platforms. The wider reach of digital space has democratized the music scenario in the country. Aayush Tiwari - Head of Music Business, Monk Entertainment said, "It is all about audience perception, what they love and want to hear.” “It is a great time for being a music artist because online music consumption has increased," Shameer Tandon, Bollywood Music Composer stated. Addressing how effective the online platforms are for the music industry, Tandon informed, “There are multiple sources of revenues that artists can reach out to." 

Online Webcerts (Web Concerts) – the New Normal?

Entertainment Tech Platform Playtoome, which provides a virtual platform for the musicians to perform where the artists receive appreciation in terms of monetary value, wider reach, etc. Reportedly, the platform has seen a significant increase in numbers during the lockdown – in page views (from 34 K to 350 K) and revenue. Subramanian Keerthivasan, Founder & CEO, Playtoome said, “Earlier we used to do one show a day, now we do ten shows in one day.” Even the music artists during the lockdown period have reached out to corporate houses for platforms to showcase their talents. Subir Malik, Founder, Organist & Manager, Parikrama informed,” We targeted the corporates for our webcerts."

Taking the discussion ahead, Sudeep Lahiri, VP Content & One Digital argued, “The person that you are offline determines what kind of content you create.” Some musicians pointed out that likes and dislikes don’t really decide how good a musician is. Also, arguably, it could be harmful to an artist. Content Creator Rajat Sharma, who hosted IIFA great carpet last year, said, “Number becomes very derogatory for an artist.” Reportedly, several incidents have happened recently that caused a major outrage on social media. There is a wide range of opinions on what to make of social media and what it means for the content creators, musicians.

Sudeep Lahiri, VP Content & One Digital strongly stated, “Internet has never been this toxic, there is so much hate. Bringing positivity to the platform is important." Obsessive fame culture is one of the toxicities present on social media platforms. On that, Lalitya Munshaw, Singer, Performer & Music Entrepreneur stated, “The young generation is crazy for fame these days but they should remember that practice and patience is critical." Also, few artists have expressed that through online medium audience connect has been severely missed. Fouzia Dastango, India's First Dastango emphasized, "There is no audience connect in the digital concerts."

Digitization – Freedom from Conformity

Bollywood has long been the benchmark for music artists to kickstart their careers. Experts would agree that for many parts that’s still the case, however, drastic changes can be observed. Lalitya Munshaw, Singer, Performer & Music Entrepreneur, “I see a lot of light, hope, and scope because artists just don’t want to stick in Bollywood world." Famous Bollywood Singer & Music Producer Benny Dayal pointed out a major challenge that an artist faces in the music industry: “It is sad when a label asks you to change your music or your personality as an artist." Dayal stands for the need for all composers to be given creative freedom so their music does not remain a product. On the contrary, for artists, digitization has given more wings to explore and deliver their content. Manmeet Singh, Singer, Actor & Music Director argued that it is easier for artists these days to come and show their talent.

Priya Saraiya, Singer & Lyricist said, “Now as an artist, I don’t want to sing similar kind of music, I want to be open to different choices." Further, with the help on the internet, the music is being listened to and acknowledged far and wide. Rabindra Narayan, Managing Director and President, PTC shared, "Punjabi music is no more regional but global." On the other hand, musicians have expressed disappointment that they are being asked to do free online concerts, which is not right. Fouzia Dastango, India's First Dastango informed, “As an artist, a big problem for me is that people expect us to do free concerts because of Covid-19.” To that, Sonam Kalra, Award-Winning Singer & Composer said, “My appeal to all artists is to say no to do free concerts." 

Shibani Kashyap, Singer, Composer & Live Performer recommended artists to empower themselves with technology and adjust to the new normal. Reportedly, in the digital space, music covers are made by the rising artists to get a faster reach. Jasbir Jassi, Music Star stated, “In my opinion, remakes have a lot of advantages and the song reaches a new set of audiences." Looking ahead into the future of music, Sherrin Varghese, Music Star shared, "There is a big hit at pricing, DIY (do it yourself), and need to collaborate is the future." In fact, several industry experts brought the importance of collaboration in the coming days. The great classical singer Padma Shri Ustad, Wasifuddin Dagar shared on that note: "One alphabet needs another alphabet to be meaningful and hence we need the support of others." 

(With inputs from Namah Chawla, Resham Suhail, Sonakshi Goel, Avishek Banerjee, Jai Krishan Soni, Shireen Sharma, Shobhit Shekhar)

Navneel Maji

BW Reporters The author is Jr Copy Editor with BW Businessworld