The Score Magazine - Archive October 2016 issue! | Page 50

Full-time Career in Music in India?
Here are some things you need to know
while you plan to make a career in the music
industry in India:
• Record Labels / Management: There aren't
• Touring: The biggest difference in the business
The Chronic Blues Circus
If you ever told your folks that you're gonna be playing
the guitar for a living, chances are they'd laugh at you
if they're one of the easygoing ones. If they're anything
like the stereotypical Indian parents, they're gonna ask
you to concentrate on your studies and stop coming
up with vague ideas. If they're one of the violent ones,
you might even have your guitar's fretboard separated
from its body! Are they wrong to do that? Not from
their perspective. Destroying your guitar is certainly
extreme, but them being angry at you can't be deemed
completely wrong.
There are millions of people across the world
who've made music as a source for their bread and
butter. Then be it by playing music or taking up
administrative duties in the music business. The
music industry, as a whole, is not a small one. But it
isn't the largest either. And in a country like India,
the demographics are vastly different than that in the
West. In general terms, the amount spent in producing
music is not incredibly different, but the profits (If any)
is!
So let's get down to the point of this piece. Is a full-
time career in the music business in India actually
an option? The biggest question here is for you to ask
yourself: "What are my expectations?"
On the road for 200+ days a year in a swanky tour bus,
fame, money, sex and all that? That's wishful thinking.
Not to say it's impossible, but certainly unrealistic.
You need to first figure out where you stand as far as
your skills as a musician or as an administrator stands.
If you believe you have what it takes to make it big,
you can take the plunge. But ALWAYS have a backup
option.
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too many of them in the country. So as a musician,
just understand that your chances of being signed
to one are limited. Even when you do get signed,
don't expect them to pay for your studio time,
Engineer, producer, artwork, etc. The chances of
you becoming the queen of England is higher than
you securing that kinda deal or something half as
lucrative!
as per Riju Dasgupta (Albatross/Primitive) is the
touring system. "Here we wait for promoters to
get in touch with us. Out there, there are booking
agents who plan tours over a month or so. Both
systems have their pros and cons. But doing
what they do is a lot better to spread the music,
especially after a new release" he. We don't have
a lot of venues that support indie music here. It's
worse if you play a genre like Heavy-Metal. So it's
going to be a tough ask trying to get gigs. It's going
to be tougher when you're trying to sort out a tour.
And touring all year long is, well, being unrealistic.
When it comes to doing international tours, things
only get tougher. "We spent from our own pockets
(For Albatross' Australian Tour), got paid across
the 3 venues but it did not cover our travel cost.
Everything on the ground was taken care of. We
had a blast. Probably my most fun experience as
a musician" says Riju. While it may be a great
experience as a whole, it's not something that you'd
be looking to do often if the music is your only
source of income.
•
Fans: Now this depends on the kind of music you
play. If you're purely a metal musician and wish
to keep it that way, you need to understand the
limitations your fans have too. Most metalheads
are college students. So they can't afford to buy a
lot of CDs or attend all your gigs. And once they
graduate, they often can't afford the time to attend
all your gigs. The scenario is pretty similar even
with other genres in the indie music scene too. "I
see a lot of them still want free stuff! They are not
willing to pay for original Music. Downloading
stuff off the internet is far easier and they get it
for free." comments Rajni Shivaram (Vocalist,
The Chronic Blues Circus). She says that people
do appreciate a lot of music these days, but very
few go beyond that and support them by actually
buying their music.