The Music of Change

chillibreeze writer — Rithika Menon

Music has evolved considerably over the last 5-10 years— be it the way music is consumed, the kind of music people listen to, the role music plays, or the availability and exposure to an array of music genres.

• 76% of young Indians watch music videos on TV everyday
• 22% of young Indians watch them 2-3 times a week
• India stands at number one with 71% on the Passion for music index

Source: Music Matters Research April 2007

It is said that the beats of the music of a place open the windows to the soul of the people that reside there. They cull out the cultural nuisances and the detailing that often goes unnoticed. Here are a few nuggets on the evolution and trends of music in India:

Trend: 1 Mainstream bands to Indie artists

The discovery of new sound…

Five years ago, main stream bands and artists like Britney Spears, Boyzone, Backstreet boys, Westlife, Madonna etc, were the talk of the town, with almost every college student humming to their tunes [at least every urbane music listener]. All that changed with the advent of the internet.

With easy access and exposure to new genres of music, the youth today are more open to experimenting with the music they choose to listen to, as play lists become more eclectic.

This holds true not just with the end consumers of music but International and Indian record labels as well, who are on the look out for new sounds. This, in turn, has given rise to the success of music contests and shows like Hero Honda and Pepsi campus rock idols, Zenzi-Yamaha Roxx, Channel [V] launch pad, Hard Rock Café, Not Just Jazz, Zenzi and other such events.

Today, artists and bands are made or broken at these live gigs and not behind the closed doors of recording studios. Some of the artists that have risen to fame are Pentagram, Bruteforce— a Pune-based thrash metal band, Avial—a Kerala-based band that plays Indie rock and folk music, and Moksha, a band from Chennai that plays hard rock music.

Trend: 2 Physical to digital

The cold, hard fact is that the sale of CDs are slowing down and CDs are on their way to becoming obsolete. In the year 2007, digital music sales overtook physical sales in Asia, the key markets being South Korea and India. The prime driver here is the mobile phone, and the services it offers like ring tones, caller back tones, caller ID tones, full track audio etc. catch on with the youngsters.
In a survey conducted by MTV Networks, India ranked number 1 with 89% of the youth agreeing that the industry do more to help them get more digital music. This is despite the fact that India isn't lagging behind all that much on the digital front with 300,000 downloadable ring tones that are digitally transmitted to handsets every day.

In terms of sheer numbers, the opportunity is huge, with the country's digital music sales expected to nearly triple to $911 million by 2010 from the $322 million level reached mid-decade. 80% of those sales will be from purchases for handsets.

Record companies’ digital music sales are estimated to have nearly doubled in value in 2006, while the number of tracks available online doubled to reach over four million on leading services in the last year. Internationally too, digital music is big. Today, there are 498 online music services available in over 40 countries, offering consumers a wide variety of choice and great value. Sources: IFPI, PWC, M:Metrics, Understanding & Solutions

Some facts and figure for you to mull over:-

GLOBAL DIGITAL MUSIC MARKET IN FIGURES [MILLIONS]
	2005	2006	CHANGE
BROADLINES	209	280	34%
SONG CATALOGUE ONLINE	2	4	100%
SINGLE TRACK DOWNLOADED	420	795	89%
SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE USERS	2.8	3.5	25%
MOBILE SUBSCRIPTIONS	1817	2017	11%
3G MOBILE SUBSCRIPTIONS	90	137	52%
PORTABLE PLAYER SALES	84	120	43%

Sources: IFPI, PWC, Metrics, Understanding & Solutions

Trend 3: Mixing and mashing is the new standard

The youth today are reshaping the industry. Music today is Amateur, Re-invented, Re-mixed and Re-discovered…With the proliferation of music genres, music has become a mish mash of varied styles both at a commercial level as well as at a customer personalization level. There are umpteen number of software available online, as well as mobile phone applications that allow anyone to remix and create their own sounds.

Music has therefore become less normative, what’s cool and what’s not has never been so far from quintessential. Artists are re-inventing themselves and singing out of their clichéd styles. Indian festivals hit the nail on the head in terms of expression of this mixing and mashing. When was the last time you heard the hip hop beats of Jay Z remixed with Marathi folk music? It certainly does happen only in India!

Trend 4: Reality Music

Although reality shows in the west have peaked and are now showing a downfall, in India, it is still big. As our voyeuristic inclinations fuel more reality shows, the music industry has also stepped in to the bandwagon. Indian Idol,which has been doing the rounds, and doing it well, I must add, became 'water cooler conversation' across the nation, and took millions of Indians to towering heights of sheer frenzy, propelling them to live their dreams.

It created ripples across India that cut across all barriers of caste, social status and geography. The reality show attracted an array of participants who sought to make their dreams a reality and a viewer base that was glued to the TV set, following the trials and tribulations of the contenders.

Another Music reality show that brought in the TRPs and went international was ‘The Hero Honda Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa’ challenge. It has participants from Asia, Africa, America and Europe. Reality in India is big music-wise and otherwise!

A day in the life of a teenager

Meet Bianca Chandra, Age: 19yrs, college student. Bianca is your every day teenager. With her new Motorola smart phone, she downloads, shares and personalizes caller ring tones for her favorite friends.

Bianca uses online software to rip tracks, remix songs and create her one signature music without even having to be in a band! She gets invites to various music events on her Facebook profile, so she's always clued in to when her buddies are playing, and when her favorite bands are in town. At any given moment, Bianca has a repertoire of 50 songs from various artists (her current passion is Nickelback, Kelly Clarkson) downloaded to her handset directly from the Internet.

She also transfers her tunes to her I Pod or cell phone and carries it with her everywhere when she’s waiting for friends at the local coffee shop, at the parlor, on her way home in the train, in the bus or rickshaw, when she’s studying, when she’s bored… Bianca loves clubbing and eating out, more often than not, she frequents places depending on whether they play her kind of music.

To sum it up, music is increasing in importance as it sits at the centre of youth’s friendship and technology ecosystem. It is more than entertainment, or just tracks one listens to. It is shaping the aspirations of entire generations, particularly in India. Music is the ‘fifth element’ for today’s youth, and it is their oxygen.

Music plays the role of a mood changer, a catalyst or icebreaker in a possibly uncomfortable situation, it can change one’s state of mind and the following action, it can uplift moods, energize, stand as an identifier of ones personality, and be the means to self-expression.

All in all, music today is omnipresent and omnipotent - it has become the youth’s digital identity. It is a connective tissue to others - a new form of social networking through content.

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—About our writer: Rithika writes for chillibreeze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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