Rock bands and independent artists are realising the power of the web platform for getting both — an audience and a commercial breakthrough
You’d expect Devraj Sanyal, CEO of www.Desihits.com to comprehend the virtues of web 2.0 economy. But Sanyal, who also doubles up the lead vocalist of the rock band Brahma, has recently started exploiting the internet for his band’s promotion. Brahma released its songs online to its virtual audience that practically lapped up the free music tracks. Today, the band is being wooed by music companies and record labels who want to license the band's music.
Sanyal asserts thata free internet is probably the best thing that could have happened to independent artists seeking recognition. His reason is simple, “you have an access to an audience of close to 45 million internet users and that is a great promotional windo..” Sanyal’s enthusiasm is well-founded. According to a recent media survey, digital media is set to witness a growth of 25 per cent this year as compared to just 7 per cent for TV. Newspaper and magazines, as per the same survey, will see a fall of 2 per cent and 4 per cent respectively.
Dhawal Mudgal, member of popular the rock band Half Step Down, is quite bullish about the digital medium too. Siting its advantages, he says, “I don’t have to send a music CD to music labels or promoters. I don’t even have to wait for the audience to discover my CD at the shop.” All he does is use social networking websites like MySpace or Facebook to promote his songs. “They are an unlikely promotional tool but a real shot in the arm for an emerging music bands like ours,” he confesses.
According to a survey by advertising agency Dentsu, screenagers (typically young consumers who are heavily dependent on television, computers and mobile phones) are at their attentive best when they are on internet, with 77 per cent of the respondents being very attentive and 51 per cent of respondents claiming they cannot live without it. So effectively, Mudgal has been tapping a very conscientious audience through social networks.
It’s no secret that independent artists and bands are cash-strapped when it comes to promoting themselves and require a cost-efficient platform to highlight their work. Freelance filmmaker and theatre director Jigyasa Taneja sums up the phenomenon, “The reach of an internet-based platform is widespread, the speed and accessibility is fantastic and options to upload and compile your videos are varied.” She has her own website www.jigyasataneja.com which keeps her accessible to a virtual audience.
Taneja began a web feed on YouTube, a video sharing portal, on which she displayed her work to millions of viewers. As a result, Taneja assisted on film projects like Being Cyrus and also a few ad films for brands like Nokia, Reliance and Nescafe. She admits, “This has been extremely helpful for me as an independent filmmaker in showing my work to prospective clients.” Since every minute, a ten hour video is being uploaded on YouTube, the portal is a mecca for most independent filmmakers. The portal has shaped into a perfect launch pad for aspiring and professional musicians, amateur and established filmmakers, comedians and even professional content owners.
Paromita Vohra, another independent director and script-writer says, “I am not looking for any revenues, as the web is all about showcasing your work to a global audience, which you can’t do otherwise .” Vohra, who also wrote the script for the Bollywood movie Khamosh Pani, notes that tapping the digital medium is still in its nascent stages. “It’s more about living in hope and getting a candid feedback from the online viewers.”
But several instances, independent artists insist that they have made commercial breakthroughs too. For the rock bands and creative artists, web platform often doubles up as an indirect source of attracting audience that translates into revenues. Like Mudgal of Half Step Down who diligently puts out an invite for every single performance on the band’s Facebook page. This helps in multiplying the number of people attending the show, he claims. Taneja, on the other hand, says that he has not made any remarkable profits through web channels or her website.
Real-time interaction and instant feedback from their internet-audience has been the biggest attraction for artists. Surojit Deb, member of the rock band ThemClones, says that the band put 17 music tracks of their soon-to-be-released album Love Hate Heroes online and asked their internet fans to choose the top 10 songs that should be in the final album, due for a release in August. “The response was great and encouraging enough to use it more effectively.” Deb however, adds that no one’s crossing out traditional mediums like TV channels that bring in the revenues. Taneja too rounds off with a word of caution. “This medium brings in plenty of visibility but not necessarily commercial benefits.”
Sanyal, on the other hand, is adamant that the digital medium can be a vital cog. At DesiHits, he is keen to give independent artists a space where they get a chance to be discovered and maybe rewarded too.
