So , we put together all the data that comes through ticketing , market research , our loyal fan base along with the music platforms , before we say , “ Hey this is what the product will look like this year .”
Having come back in person after the pandemic , what are some of the changes you noticed at the festival ?
Nikhil : I think more than anything else , people were just happy to be back . Even though technically we had been away for two years , we had missed two editions of the Vh1 Supersonic , but it has actually been three years since we last saw people on that field , and artists came to that place , that we all sort of gathered together . So , the one thing noticed most of all was just the enthusiasm of people in Pune who couldn ’ t just wait to get back on that field . That came out in all the stories we saw on social media , all the communication from the artists and the crew . There was just this sense of relief to be back on the field and we also noticed , music trends have changed a little bit . They change ever so often but since the last three years of the Vh1 Supersonic , we were cognisant of the fact that trends are changing . We took one bold step this year which was to include Afrobeat . We had an artist called CKay who played at
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8 highonscore . com the festival and our prediction at Vh1 Supersonic is that by the same time next year , pretty much every festival in India will have Afrobeat in it . India is turning out to be the dream destination for artists across the globe . Given the popularity Vh1 Supersonic has created for itself , artists are keen and excited to perform in India and engage with their fans . It was one of the strengths that we spotted early , and we spotted trends early many times in the past , techno being one of them . That was one big change at Vh1 Supersonic this year .
Talking about trends , over the pandemic , a lot of independent artists emerged and you guys also featured a lot of independent artists this year . The line up was really amazing .
Nikhil : Well , that ’ s another thing that we did early . We crossed that bridge in 2020 . Gaurav was a part of the decision to bring Prateek Kuhad and DIVINE to play at the Vh1 Supersonic for the first time . Up until then , people had the impression that we are a largely English-speaking music festival . As I said , people in India will listen to Divine as much as they listen to Eminem . They will listen to Prateek Kuhad as much as they will listen to Coldplay . So , we didn ’ t see any need to differentiate a festival based on language . I think cultural tastes , driving culture and bringing communities together , are differentiators for Vh1 Supersonic and not necessarily language .
Gaurav : If you see , some of our headliners were social media stars . The trend of the consumption of music that we found is also changing . During the pandemic , people were discovering music on platforms more than just music platforms . Whether it is a CKay or an Anne- Marie or a Tyga , all of them have become social media stars in their own space as well . And that also went into saying that the trend of discovery of music is changing . So why not bring the stars that started the trend of this discovery ? Keeping this in mind we keep evolving music-wise to be on point and keep up with the trend .
Why Pune ? What according to you makes the city the location for this festival ?
Gaurav : We started out in Goa . The first four editions of Vh1 Supersonic were in Goa . We shifted to Pune after that . What we are seeing in Pune , is that it is a big urban market where our audiences are . There are a lot of colleges , young corporates , and young people from the tech world in Pune . In terms of location and in terms of being an outdoor