‘Sounds of India’

The strumming of an electrical guitar enmeshed with the hollow thundering of the bridhanggam somewhere in the background, the ethereal blowing of the flute. Music today has evolved considerably over the last 5-10 years,be it the way music is consumed,the kind of music people listen to,the role music plays,the availability and exposure to an array of music genres today.

It is said that the beats of the music of a place, open the windows to the soul of the people that reside there. They cull out the cultural nuisances and the detailing that often goes unnoticed.Here are a few nuggets on the evolution of music and the trends in music in India

Trend: 1 Discovery of new sounds

From Main steam bands to indie artisits...

Five years ago main stream bands and artists like Britney Spears, Boyzone, Backstreet boys, Westlife, Madonna etc were the talk of the town with almost every college student humming to their tunes.All that changed with the advent of the internet.

With easy access and exposure to new genres of music the youth today are more open to experimenting with the music they choose to listen to as play lists become more eclectic.This holds true not just with the end consumers of music but International and Indian record labels as well who are on the look out for new sounds.This in turn has given rise to the success of music contests and shows like Hero Honda and Pepsi campus rock idols,Zenzi-Yamaha Roxx,Channel [V]launch pad,Hard Rock Café,Not Just Jazz ,Zenzi and other such places and events.

Today artists and bands get are made or broken at these live gigs and not behind the closed doors of recording studios.Some of the artisits that have rise to fame today are Pentagram,Bruteforce a Pune based thrash metal band,Avial a Kerala based band that plays Indie rock and folk music,Moksha a band from Chennai that plays hard rock music.

Trend: 2 Music is leap frogging with the digital wave

The cold hard fact today is Cds are slowing on their way to becoming obsolete.In the year 2007 digital music sales overtook physical sales in Asia,the key markets being South Korea and India.The prime driver here being the mobile phone and the services they offer like ring tones,caller back tones,caller ID tones,full track audio etc catch on with the youngsters.

In a survey conducted by MTV Networks, India ranked number 1 with 89% of the youth agreeing that the industry do more to help them get more digital music.This is despite the fact that India isn't lagging behind all the much on the digital front with 300,000 down loadable ring tones that are digitally transmitted to handsets every day in India.

In terms of sheer numbers the opportunity is huge,with the country's digital music sales expected to nearly triple, to $911 million, by 2010 from the $322 million level reached mid-decade, and 80% of those sales will be from purchases for handsets. Record companies’ digital music sales are estimated to have nearly doubled in value in 2006, while the number of tracks available online doubled to reach over four million on leading services in the last year.Internationally too digital music is big, today there are 498 online music services available in over 40 countries, offering consumers a wide variety of choice and great value.

Some facts and figure for you to mull over:-

GLOBAL DIGITAL MUSIC MARKET IN FIGURES[MILLIONS]
	2005	2006	CHANGE
BROADLINES	209	280	34%
SONG CATALOGUE ONLINE	2	4	100%
SINGLE TRACK DOWNLOADED	420	795	89%
SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE USERS	2.8	3.5	25%
MOBILE SUBSCRIPTIONS	1817	2017	11%
3G MOBILE SUBSCRIPTIONS	90	137	52%
PORTABLE PLAYER SALES	84	120	43%

Trend 3: The mixing and mashing of sounds

The youth today are reshaping the industry,music today is Amateur,Re-invented,Re-mixed and Re-discovered…With the proliferation of music genres music has become a mesh mash of varied styles both at a commercial level as well as at a customer personalization level.there are umpteen number of software available online,as well as mobile phone applications that allows anyone to remix and create their own sounds.

Music today is less normative, whats cool and whats has never been so far from quintessential.Artists are re-inventing themselves and singing out of their cliché styles.Indian festivals hit the nail on the head in terms of expression of this mixing and mashing.When was the last time you heard the hip hop beats of Jay Z remixed with Marathi folk music?I certainly does happen only in India!

Trend 4: Reality bytes

Although reality shows in the west have peaked and showing a downfall in India reality is big.As our voyeuristic inclinations fuel more reality shows, the music industry has also stepped in to the bandwagon. Indian Idol which has been doing the rounds and doing it well I must add took millions of Indians to towering heights of sheer frenzy, propelling them to live their dreams and becoming 'water cooler conversation' across the nation.

Indian Idol experienced viewer engagement as never before, truly cutting across all boundaries of caste, creed, social status and geographies to witness people from every walk of life turn up in full strength, not only to participate and make their dreams come true but also to religiously vote to choose their 'Indian Idol'.

Another Music reality show that brought in the TRPs and went international was ‘The Hero Honda Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa challenge it has participants from Asia, Africa, America and Europe.

Trend 5: Changing music consumption patterns and its role in the live of the youth today

Meet Bianca Chandra,Age: 21yrs, college student. Bianca is your every day teenager. With her new Motorola smart phone she downloads, shares and personalizes caller ring tones for her favorite friends.

Bianca uses online software to rip tracks, remix songs and create her one signature music without even having to be in a band! She gets invites to various music events on her facebook profile, so she's always clued in to when her buddies are playing and where and when her favorite bands are in town. At any given moment, Bianca has a repertoire of 50 songs from various artists (her current passion is Nickelback, Kelly Clarkson downloaded to her handset directly from the Internet.

She also transfers her tunes to her i Pod or cell and carries it with her everywhere when shes waiting for friends at the local coffee shop,at the parlor,on her way home in the train,in the bus or rickshaw,whens shes studying,when shes bored… Bianca love clubbing and eating out, more often than not she frequents places depending on whether they play her kind of music.

To sum it up music is increasing in importance as it sits at the center of youth’s friendship and technology ecosystem.It is more than entertainment, or than tracks to listen to. It is shaping the aspirations of entire generations, particularly in India.Music is the ‘fifth element’ for today’s youth, and it’s their oxygen.

Music today plays the role of a mood changer,a catalyst or icebreaker in a possibly uncomfortable situation, it can change ones state of mind and the following action, it can uplift moods, energize, stands as an identifier of ones personality, a means to self expression.

All in all music today is omnipresent and omnipotent - it has become youth’s digital identity.It is a connective tissue to others - a new form of social networking through content.

My very first write up!!

The Sifter syndrome

Have we finally become sifters in our own lives?Skimming the surface,floating through,letting the ripples take us to wherever they choose to?

Stop for a sec and think about it,its become an integral part of everyones DNA today

• From the insane number of emails we get,we'd probably glance through the subjects and choose to read the few that catch eye

• The calls we choose to take,despite technology supposedly bringing us closer together i really doubt whether it has in the sense of 'meaningful, heartfelt conversations'.More often than not we land up talking more on the phone but the kind of conversations we have are more superficial,"What did you eat for lunch?Whens your doctors appointment?How long will it take for you to get home?"Stop and think when was the last time you spoke at lenght about something that really mattered to someone over the phone and think about how probably5-7 years ago you probably had more heartfelt conversations face to face.

• We sift through out entertainment options as well,from the kind of movies we choose to see,earlier i remember waiting for the Saturday night movie,I'd know which movie was aired on which channel,who were the cast and would have see the promos a zillion times.There was a heightened sense of anticipation for that movie!Today I'd probably surf the TV cable offering,stumble upon something that interests me and watch it for a while.

• The same applies for book reading[for the book worms]today we have so many more options but because of lack of time,lower attention spans,more interruptions etc we land up sifting to more books but not really getting involved in them as we read[think about the last time u laughed out loud at something funny in a book,or smiled even]

• Cooking is no different,i remember when i was young and we'd bake cakes at my grandmums place it was a truly bonding and ritualistic ordeal with three generations coming together to create a wonderful experience.Everyone had their duties and roles to play[from buying the ingredients,measuring them,whipping the batter,butter the bake dish,supervising the oven]Today I'm married and have live separately, i bake in a fashion that lacks the ritual and fan fare,mind you its not the quantity that makes the difference it the role that cake plays in our lives today and the bonding that it lacks.

In this age of information overload,the Attention Deficit Consumer,time shifting that we all are victim to no wonder we sift through the very elements thats make our lives worthwhile.I think that in some way may explain the looming sense of dissatisfaction that has latched on at a subconscious level in our lives.

Some trendspotting

I always seem to be a tad bit later when it comes to the round up of the year gone by or the forecast for the year ahead,nevertheless better late than never!!!

Version 1.0 of trends for the year

1.PERSONALIZATION PERSONALIZATION PERSONALIZATION!!

Believe it or not things can only get more personalized from the products and services we use to our online avtars!With companies going head over heels to make sure that what you want=what you've ordered.On the online front too social networking sites,online communities,blogs etc all are working around the clock to make sure they have an application or widget that reflects the real you.

2.OPEN SOURCE...CO-CREATION

With the internet opening up much more than doors,everyone can do almost everything today!!![well almost]So we as lay men today can create content,get published,create applications,online experiences,be an integral part in the creation and ideation process of many a company's product line,we can have our voice heard!!

3.WEB 2.0 CAN WE EXPECT A 3.0 IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

With the 2nd generation internet technology getting consumed at such a rapid all over the world as in India to we can surely look at the net becoming more and transparent,interactive and interesting!India may have been a little bit on the use of web2.0 effectively[at least from a media and advertising perspective..the youngsters today seem to have masted the latest social networking applications,blogger widgets...and are using the technology full throttle!!]

Physical existence v/s virtual existence

Just a random thought... Technology was built to shrink distances to bring us closer. Second life avatars,chat rooms,g talk... Do these virtual communication devices actually encourage us to live a virtual life or are they pushing us towards seeking face-to-face interactions through the use of these devices

The classic example would be dating sites...I can now connect with like minded individuals but what i am really looking for is the face-to-face meeting with the person. Similarly posting on blogs and having random visitors post on your blog who share their views has a thrill of its own but the real buzz factor lies in the possibility that someday i might just be able to transform this virtual connection into a real one.

Google earth as well as other cafes and restaurants that have online communities have in a way bridged the game between strangers in a particular locality.When add a CCD Khar community to my orkut community listing i am in fact hoping that i will make a virtual connection with someone who also frequently the same place that could maybe translate into an actual physical meeting someday.

The internet in my opinion has somewhere become the 1st screen filter when it come to the kind of friends/acquaintances we hope to have in our lives