Indie music finally takes a byte out of Bollywood

At the moment, there sincerely appears to be a state of confusion, both among listeners and musicians themselves, on what denotes an “indie” artist. This could also be part of a corollary to the All About Music 2023 event that occurred in Mumbai in September earlier this year when, during the concluding day, a session was presented on ‘Transition From Mainstream’. Moderated by entrepreneur Tarsame Mittal, it discussed how musicians Vishal Bhardwaj, Amit Trivedi, Salim Merchant, and Shekhar Ravjiani, shifted from the sounds of Bollywood to also work on independent projects, leveraging on their soundtrack successes to eventually promote their personal passion.

While the success of these independent ventures are moot in comparison to the Bollywood accomplishments, it does ensure that the definition of “indie” will always remain open to interpretation, one that has evolved – and will continue evolving – through the years, more so since the onset of the digital era. Quite simply, “indie” was considered as music that was created by a “do-it-yourself” (DIY) artist or, for argument’s sake, music released on an independent label, essentially one presently not linked to any major label such as Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, or Warner Music Group. However, the recent trend is for artists not to involve any label at all and simply self-release their music directly through streaming platforms and on social media, providing direct opportunities for monetization of both audio and/or audio-visual content.

What defines “indie”?

“Traditionally,” explains Asli Music label head KJ Singh, “‘indie’ meant a musician not signed to a ‘major label’. Basically, it meant (that) they did their own thing musically and, in most cases, managed it themselves. From bookings, recordings, promotions (to) distribution. But with social media and streaming being so popular and making it pretty straightforward to upload your music and develop a following, most people

Rajiv Pandey

are now ‘going indie’.” Hence, adds Rajiv Pandey, co-founder of Kolkata-based vinyl specialists Free School Street Records: “I would term everyone as an indie artist as the days of recording companies hiring acts and promoting them is gone!” At the same time, Aveek Chatterjee, Rajiv’s partner at Free School, provides a twist to the “indie” definition: “If an artist has recorded the music and designed the artwork at his/her own expense, but the release of the album in physical and digital formats, as well as the promotion and marketing are handled by a record label, the artist cannot be considered as a full-fledged indie artist.”

Who is an indie artist then?

But in attempting to reduce the confusion here, let us attempt to define “indie” rather than what it denotes: Literally speaking, “indie” is a term quite simply utilised as an abbreviation of the word “independent”. While there would be many who agree with this definition, there are others who believe that the “indie” explanation is more connected with genres. In fact, explains Aishwarya Natarajan, founder-proprietor of Indianuance, a Mumbai-based artist management and consulting firm, “An indie artist has come to be associated with a genre of music that spans from rock to jazz (and) folk to fusion, with an element of contemporary (music).”  Lending support to Aishwarya’s explanation is Mumbai-based singer-songwriter KC Loy, recently promoting an acoustic-flavoured song from the past, ‘Morning Star’, who says that “all genres of music can be indie (as) indie is a spirit!” Then there is at least one artist, guitarist Milind Chitnavis, also known as Milin, and who leads a band called Music UnLtd that is currently promoting the Avaneendra Sheolikar sitar-driven ‘This Is It’, who believes that “indie” denotes any artist who is in the field of music merely out of passion. “An indie artist is one who creates (music) for the beauty of creation,” he says, “without (being) dictated according to commercial compulsions.”

Do music labels support indie music?

However, while many artists may commence their careers as independent artists, what happens to those who decide on signing to labels? New Delhi-based singer-composer-performer Hitesh Rikki Madan, an ex-member of Euphoria who is presently promoting his latest effort with sons Arriv and Advay, ‘Aao Naa’, explains: “If an artist’s entire catalogue consists of material that has only been recorded and released

Hitesh Madan

with a major music label, then that artist cannot be considered as an indie artist. However, there are artists who have released some of their catalogue with major labels and some of it independently and continue to do so even now. These artists can most definitely be considered as independent artists.”

“A (music) label artist is a label artist,” disagrees artist/composer Indrajit “Tubby” Sharma, also the General Secretary of the Mumbai-based Music Composers Association of India (MCAI), having recently released a jazz-fusion album called ‘Pitara’. “So the short answer (of them being considered as independent artists) is no!”

Can the sounds of indie go Bollywood?

Jaimin Rajani

Similarly, what about indie artists recording for soundtracks, can they be considered indie anymore? Here are thoughts provided by Kolkata-based musician Jaimin (Rajani), whose debut album from last year, ‘Cutting Loose’, won ‘The Best Rock Album of the Year‘ at Clef Music Awards 2022: “There are a lot of songs by artists falling under the indie category (that) perfectly align with the storyline and mood…they can be considered (indie).” Reiterating the views of Jaimin is Viraj Bahri, a certified sound engineer from the Berklee College of Music, Boston, who says that “this is true as long as the artist is not legally bound to only work for a single (film) production house”, an argument

Viraj Bahri

also supported by Indianuance’s Aishwarya: “If a film has picked up a song or recorded an indie artist, then I would say that the artist remains indie.” “I don’t see why not?” agrees Asli Music’s KJ Singh. “Most of the artists that films pick up only caught attention because they had prior music released as an Indie artist. Besides, labels aren’t really signing artists the way they used to. Artist and Repertoire (A&R) haven’t locked new artists for albums in years, ever since streaming made it all about the single. Artists, to me, look at doing film songs as a way of gaining visibility. Now, even more so, since they’re not being asked to tone down their sound for reach. Sometimes, if it serves the plot, it’s a match made in heaven.” KJ Singh cites Indian Ocean, Lucky Ali, OAFF, and Neeraj Sridhar as his “favourite examples”. However, Milin of Music UnLtd disagrees on the argument that providing music to a film can still make an artist be considered as independent. “No,” he says categorically, “(one) cannot be considered indie if the artist has created (music for) another medium…”

Downsides for indie artists…

Bharath Swamy

While the majority of opinions received make it emphatically clear that an indie artist, be it signed to a label or recording for a movie, can remain independent, the other challenge in this highly competitive market is how to monetization indie talent, keeping in mind the monies appear scarce in terms of income from streaming. “In today’s scenario,” opines Bharath Swamy, the sole surviving member of rockers Agni, who recently promoted the Unleashing The Monster Tour in Mumbai, “a continuation of creative releases and constant live concerts and performances can help an indie artist survive financially.” Free School Street Records’ Aveek Chatterjee is a lot more expansive in the matter of finances when he talks of “not much sales of albums of indie artists (occur) in physical formats, and the streaming platforms pay miniscule amounts to the artists.” Further, adds Aveek, “the professional fees (payable to) the indie artist for playing full concerts are very low. Such an adverse situation forces the indie artists to take up day jobs or play covers at bars and pubs to pay their bills.” Aveek’s partner in rhyme, Rajiv Pandey, speaks about creating a distinct identity to support the indie artist as a brand. “Get the word out,” he declares, “perform live, and gain recognition. You also require to invent a persona that also sells. Music is no longer enough…you need to be a complete package!” Until then, Rajiv predicts that the future is “grim…until the financial modes change where they can make a living…”

Singer-songwriter KC Loy is blunt when he speaks about “just creating good music isn’t enough! One should liken every indie project as a start-up. Just creating a great product won’t do; you will need to figure out how to make everyone want to own a copy (of your creation)…” To add to the list of requirements for success, Tubby adds, “luck…to make it big!”

What makes indie music survive?

Musician Hitesh Rikki Madan discusses the difficulties of being an independent musician. “I believe there are very, very few artists who can survive financially, solely by creating indie music”, he admits. “Creating, promoting, and marketing independent music is financially draining and very time consuming. On the other hand, because there is so much content being released every day, it is becoming increasingly difficult for a song to get noticed and become a ‘hit’. Majority of the radio and broadcast channels, and a few digital streaming platforms, are still not paying royalties to the right owners. Even if they do, it seems they still don’t reach the artists…” “There is little or no support for indie music from individuals, businesses, and corporates,” laments Music UnLtd’s Milind Chitnavis. “These entities lend support only to music connected with films or to artists that are already established. Even artist managers only seek to manage already established artists…they don’t want to make the effort to hunt for talent and nurture it for success. There is no government support either, so indie artists are left to fend for themselves and take up other vocations to earn money.”

Benefits of indie-pendence…

”Things are tough,” agrees KJ Singh, “(and) it is disheartening initially, but I’m happy that many people are in it for the long haul.”  Sharing Singh’s optimism is Indianuance’s Aishwarya Natarajan: “If there is a time that is golden for indie musicians, it is now! It remains a challenge for those who have chosen the path of being indie musicians, but the critical mass (that) indie music has gathered bodes well for them. Avenues for them are only growing, be it live venues and festivals, opportunities on OTT because of the flurry of alternative cinema and web series, (and) brand sponsorship because of the target group (that) indie musicians appeal to…” Tubby also seems to lend support to Aishwarya’s argument: “I think this is the era for independent artists and indie music. This is evident from the number of independent songs that are being licensed for OTT platforms, and (for) films by music supervisors.” In addition, Tubby says that indie artists also need to “sign the right deals, register their music with (collection) societies, and claim their royalties…”. Inputs from guitarist Hitesh Rikki Madan back the opinions put forth: “Indie music is flourishing and the community of artists and their fans is growing at a very fast pace. There are more and more platforms, venues, festivals, (and) clubs supporting independent music and artists.”  “I have been an independent artist for eight years now,” adds Berklee Music alumni Viraj Bahri, “and continue to learn aspects of the music business that I would have never learnt if I had signed onto a label.”

Growing the market for indie music…

The consensus for indie artists is that it is vital to grow social media accounts to keep a sharp image with a fan base through which they can provide updates on new releases, tour dates, the availability of merchandise, and any other relevant news. Further, Aveek Chatterjee of Free School Street Record also speaks of monitoring quality. “For indie music,” he declares, “there should be some set criteria to be imposed by the streaming platforms or record labels to check the quality of music being offered. There’s absolutely no quality control on the content of music these days. If this measure is put in place, the volume of new music will reduce significantly and the genuine, talented artists will get noticed easily, who can be rewarded with higher revenues/royalties.”

Besides quality, Aveek proposes several initiatives for the betterment of the indie music business. “Majority of the indie artists in the music industry are clueless about the business and commercial aspects of this sector,” he announces. “So they need be educated on these aspects. Hence, there should be regular free conferences/webinars on behalf of the streaming platforms or record labels for the indie artists so that they become aware of the music business and can plan to create/record/release/promote their music accordingly.” Agni’s Bharath Swamy talks about how technology can also lend support to the indie movement. “If virtual reality can be utilized whereby (a consumer) can get the feel of a live concert by actually not being physically present at the location, it would provide an amazing experience and push the indie artists’ reach.”

Can indie music go mainstream?

Additional comments are provided by Asli Music’s KJ Singh: “Really wish radio would jump onto the indie bandwagon full-time. As of now, they give it a few hours of airplay and believe that it’s something to be grateful for. But the tides are turning and I fear that, a few years from now, it might be radio that loses out on being early to support Indian indie (music). I find it strange that ever since the internet made it possible to find talent from any corner of the world, A&R work at (music) labels that used to go hunting for this type of talent has come to a halt. Always felt like this could be a golden age but, instead, everyone from producers to promoters to reality shows, all of them want ready-made rockstars or perfect pop stars from day one. “

“What happened to working with the artist to create one?” KJ Singh inquires. “What do you do when you find a diamond in the rough and you want to help polish their game and take them international? Exciting questions and, you can bet, I’m still looking for answers.”

With several avenues now available towards marketing, and fortuitously now for music listeners who crave for music outside the film business, which still has a monopoly on the music industry, there still remains the thrill of discovering the next infectious tune or, as the case is, a new sound. While there remain plenty of hidden musical gems to mine across Spotify lists, through YouTube channels, and on Instagram reels, there is no denying that India’s indie music scene is not only alive, but maturing and, fortunately, obtaining a presence into conventional playlists otherwise dominated by Bollywood hits merely helps bringing indie-pendence day a lot closer!

Graphics courtesy: Jigna Shah Oza