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 | 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
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.
2 comments:
Hey Baby am back with a vengeance this time.. ha ha
ok basically certain points which i would probably like to refute or have an opinion about :-)
1. Ok about the collaboration bit.. i think its not a new phenomenon.. an asha bhosle did it with boy george ages ago.. yes maybe the exposure is much more also i guess that there are inane number of players in the market and therefore marketing tactics and survival of the fittest..
2.Feel the whole digitisation has fucked certain sounds for sure..like pentagram were famous even years back not just today.. one of the first bands to go on the international circuit for rock from india..Well there latest album is mash of all the possible recording and mixing machines that they could.. their original sound for which a vishal dadlani was famous is no where.. I miss originality in the music for sure..
3. Yes for amatuers its great that the digital world provides them with platforms and softwares which can let them do their mixing right at home which otherwise can be quiet an expensive affair if u go the whole hog the DJ way..Its a good practie ground before geting into the circuit..
4.this ones completely personal on the digital music leapfrogging bit.. Well i think i have a personal bias towards the cassettes and Cd's way.. the charm that using those on a woofer system has no other can have.. listening to music on the computer speakers has always been for me the most boring way of listening to music.. the excitement of the collection of album you have.. the album art that you possess along with the CD as a CD cover or a cassette cover.. its a different creative zone altogether..and gives u big high as well.. atleast does to me.. Yes the influx of the Ipods and the mp3's and mp4's or watver it is has made the world much more digital as it lets u carry your music around and keep in touch with it.. but yeah still would one want to trade those house parties with the music playing on your music player for the ipods .. i dunno , i wouldnt trade that for anything..
5.For the mix and match of sounds.. I feel that the remix culture going on for about 15 years now in the country has kind of managed to turn a lot of old indian music directors in their grave for sure.. because i feel that certain things are best left alone.. But yet at the same time yeah certain remixes specially the ones u here while clubbing are quiet intriguing.. like you mentioned about the jayz and marathi bit..but that depends also onhow well one mixes it.. rarely find some good stuff..
Sonu Nigam has just come out with an album where he has given modern elctronic sound to his classical singing.. a mash up which to me sounded quiet new.. and nice..keeping intact the depth of classical music and mixing it with new sounds..ofcourse ignore the vedio :D
6.Reality shows have ofcourse been quiet a hit.. though an indian idol is the more commercial version and a Sa re ga ma or a amul voice of india is real talented people fighting it out there.. its a pleasure to listen to the live singing in these 2 programmes ofcourse keeping aside the drama created in these as well for the yet again TRP's...But ya these reality shows are the hit of the moment.. in all formats like even Zhoom india which had tv celebrities being taught singing by big singers..
7. I would disagree to your last point about MUSIC INCREASIN IN IMPORTANCE TODAY.
Music has always been important.. Ask your parents generation if they werent glued onto the film music of their time..or for that thta matter any music of their time..i have been into music .. like an addicted leech since i was a child.. yes my taste was more rock .. GnR being the kind introductory bands for me into music because i came from an english music and rock as a genre popular area of northeast.. I guess which part of the country you come also influences a lot of your music taste becuase there is jut so much variety in our country..
Music i feel is not increasing in importance.. rather i would put it as becoming more easily accessible while on the move.. geting cheaper because the digital influx.. though it promotes piracy... Which has been quiet hard hitting to the music industry..Also the variety is far more and due to increased globalisation (ha ha i like to use big words.. but seriously)the exposure to international music or different genres of music within the country and outside has increased tremendously.. and since the digital world has got all of us in such close quarters thanks to the social networking sites.. we seem to be knowing and interacting more with people and therefore geting to know about variety..
8. last but not the least.. INDIAN OCEAN has been my new found love since their song bandeh came out for the movie Black friday.. That's wen i went into their history and man thats deep..they have been around for donkeys ears..and you have to listen to their albums.. awesome is the word.. and the kind of sound that they produce is awesome and real..
do visit their official website http://www.indianoceanmusic.com/
to know more about the kind of music they make..
I guess pentagram for being sort of pioneers of rock should have stuck to their sound which is geting increasingly rare to find these days..
9. Ok another point about the originality of sound.. dont we still go back and listen to led zep, floyd, U2 ,dire straits, Doors rather than the present music?? a lot do .. because they were original and they were great.. with the influx of digitisation there has been too much hotch potch in the sounds.. and i feel that the music U2 makes today suckssssss.. each of these bands and more from the 70's 80's 60's had their original sounds and unique sounds that made them great..and popular.. its a hotch potch comercial britney spears world today where in one out of 100 realtime singers will emerge in todays world..
Yes well to sum it all up and give some gravity to the charts that mtv and you provide on your blog.. lol! i will agree to that fact that music has gone the digital way be it in terms of how you can carry it around , or how it sounds, all of it..There is no denying that.. but personal opinion..IT SUCKSSSSSSSSS!!!!
HAAAAAAHhhhhh.. man.. thats one long comment i realise... he he..
One striking inflection is the death of the music album, as we once knew it - Singles seem to be ruling (check the sparse crowds at a music store on any given weekend).
Accentuated by digital delivery (iTune/iPod) and maybe, just maybe, a shorter attention span..
Post a Comment