ethos of our music , there ’ s also the element of the fans . We are doing this to entertain our fans . We talk to them , we take them in confidence . A lot of the time , the team , comes up with artists and then we throw it out to the fans to know their choices . Vh1 Supersonic has really been a platform of discovery for some great sounds and artists which I don ’ t see many other festivals doing . While you need to have popular and commercial names , the ethos for us still stands on the discoverability of artists and sounds . I think we will continue to stay true to that .
What are some of the steps that you take to ensure that the festival is inclusive for both the artists and the festival-goers ?
Gaurav : While finalizing an artist line-up , the bookings are done after communicating with the artists . We take their opinions and ideas because they are the largest contributors to our product . We talk to them to understand what they are looking at , when it comes to playing at Vh1 Supersonic . It could be a headliner , or a new artist that we are giving an opportunity to , on our platform .
We talk to everyone and then say hey okay , so this is what we feel works from your repertoire or from your upcoming repertoire and which is what should be brought into from your music standpoint . From the consumers , as I said , we are constantly engaging with our loyal fanbase . Every time we introduce something , like in 2020 , we introduced fashion and art . We introduced it , we spoke with the people who came there , and they loved the experience . From about 40 designers and artists in 2020 , we went to 100 + this year purely from the feedback from the consumers saying , “ hey we came to the festival obviously for the music and the kind of curation that you guys bring to the table , but for 8 hours over there I got so many more things to do , experientially and shot some great stuff .”
Nikhil : One of the key areas of focus for Supersonic since 2013 is that the festival itself is a safe space for everyone . When I left my previous festival , I could clearly see trends emerging , that the festival is mainly becoming bad behaviour-oriented and that was a great concern to me . I was getting feedback from friends that they were dancing with their girlfriends , but their girlfriends were still getting touched and groped by people around them . So right from the get-go in 2013 , we made sure that we had a very strong focus towards making sure that the festival feels safe for everyone . Now I ’ m not just talking about girls . Guys , people of different orientations , backgrounds , everybody . We have had strong messaging and elements in the festival that sort of emphasise the point to say that this is a safe space . We ’ d encourage the community to get involved and to not tolerate bad behaviour from anyone . So , one of the messages that the emcee will put out from the stage is “ if you see something , say something .” If you see somebody misbehaving with somebody else , say something . Don ’ t say “ it ’ s not my problem .” If you see someone who looks like they ’ re dehydrated or exhausted , they are sitting down on the ground , go and ask them if they need help . We ’ ve got staff all around and there ’ s always someone who will be there in a matter of minutes , but more often than not , if someone is in trouble , if someone is being treated badly , there ’ s gonna be another fan right next to them who can get involved . We ’ ve seen changes into almost no bad behaviour across the festival . In fact , this year when I was walking through the crowds , I ’ m looking at so many women in the audience that I ’ m like , “ hey if any guy tries to misbehave here , forget the guys , the women are going to turn on him and that ’ s not gonna be pretty .” It ’ s so nice as a festival promoter to see that balance of guys and girls and everybody there has a good time . Gaurav and I , both are through the festival all the time . We are constantly crisscrossing . We never see a guy trying to chat up a girl who doesn ’ t want to be chatted up to or trying to be fresh with someone . Everybody is there for a great experience and to make new memories and to enjoy the music . It ’ s beautiful to see the vibe at Supersonic which is why I started out this interview by saying our vibe is what defines us . Our vibe is what sets us apart from so many other festivals .
Talking about artists , is there a pre-decided ratio between Indian and international artists at the festival ?
Nikhil : Nope . Music is something you cannot create reservations around . I can ’ t emphasise that point strongly enough . You just absolutely cannot . I personally strongly stand for more representation of different genders in the music industry . My wife is a pioneer in the music industry , but she ’ ll be the first person to tell you that booking an artist based on their ethnicity , gender , nationality , sexual orientation is the worst thing you can do . It ’ s almost like saying “ Oh , you ’ re not good enough to compete , to be there around everyone else . So , we have to sort of create a category for you to make you a part of the festival .” That ’ s the worst thing you can do in my opinion .
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