Mumbai-based music agency Gatecrash, together with Canada's Music Incubator Institut Franais and digital music company Believe, is inviting application for the sixth edition of its artist development programme Amplify Music Incubator (AMI), which begins on August 14.
This year, AMI will also include wellness workshops, consultations for styling for stage shows and a collaboration with the not-for-profit organisation Music Mulakatein.
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"We conduct two AMIs in a year. As programme facilitators, we are constantly learning and improving by adding newer interventions to it," said Tanish Thakker, founder of AMI.
"By listening to artists, we have been able to identify pressure points and add workshops to the programme. Wellbeing is a focus this year with workshops and talks like grounding in the creative space, yoga and meditation (during the residency), intuitive art and dance therapy," he added.
For five weeks, selected musicians will be coached online, after which they will attend a week-long residency in Goa followed by a showcase.
Goa really works, especially now that it is off season. It is an easily approachable place for all over India. More importantly, many of the industry professionals have moved to Goa, so we will be able to offer better infrastructure for the musicians there, said Thakker.
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So far, 42 acts, including bands and musicians such as T.ill Apes, Easy Wanderlings, RANJ + Clifr, Bawari Basanti and Shreyas Iyengar, have been benefited by being a part of AMI, the organisers said.
The biggest takeaway for us is that such platforms offer musicians a sense of belonging. They meet others, understand that they are not alone in their struggles and, more importantly, this paves the way for more collaborations among themselves, added Thakker.
Thakker said the support the musicians give each other has been a constant through all editions of AMI.
If you put together a group of people in a physical place, a lot of things change. We have been noticing how musicians help and grow with each other. This is really heartwarming. Also, we realised that at the heart of it all, when musicians get together they just want to jam and create some more music, said Thakker.
This is also one of the reasons why from this year it has been decided that AMI participants will help with the not-for-profit initiative, Music Mulakatein.
We organised a series of shows and workshops across India with the help of local NGOs, so that people from disadvantaged communities can have access to live music, said Thakker.
During the pandemic, the initiative came to a halt. We will be starting again. Now, these shows will feature a few selected artists from all editions of AMI, said Thakker.
Music Mulakatein aims to use music as a facilitator of change, Thakker said. Of course, it will be a bit difficult to host this in monsoon, so once the weather clears, we will be holding events in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, he added.
As for AMI, any musician who wants to take his or her project/band forward is eligible. The incubator will help participants better understand PR and promotions, copyrights and royalties, and the complex world of streaming.
We are looking at people who have been showing seriousness and consistency in promoting their ideas. We help them navigate through the intricacies of the music business by providing entrepreneurship training. We also help them build strong networks in the industry, said Thakker.
The sixth edition will run from August 14 to September 23. Applications will close on July 17.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)