MUSIC GOING LIVE STREAM
Robbed of opportunities to play gigs this year, musicians are turning to the internet to showcase their talent and make some money through online concerts
An online concert series seems to have achieved what organisers of Indian classical music shows have striven to do for years—get a new, younger audience to engage with the genre. “A lot of people comment ‘I never realised classical music could be this interesting. Now I’ll start listening to it more’,” says Rohit Kaul, head of marketing at HCL Concerts, a division of the technology company that has been staging a digital avatar of its Baithak series, its on-ground Hindustani and Carnatic recitals, since April.
In the past four months, it has treated classical music aficionados to over 30 concerts by stars such as Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Shubha Mudgal, Shujaat Khan and Sudha Ragunathan, streamed on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. The “majority” of the viewers are “between 25 and 34 years”, an age group that comprised just about 30 to 40 per cent of the crowd at “physical concerts”, says Kaul. As in the real world, the artists are paid a performance fee. The series has been so successful that HCL aims to continue it even after restrictions ease.
Baithak is among the several musical initiatives launched since the country went into lockdown at the end of March. The resultant cancellation of public gatherings, including concerts, deprived Indian musicians of their primary means of income. Among the most vulnerable were folk acts. Anahad Foundation, a non-profit that seeks to “empower” folk musicians “through technology”, was quick to spring into action after the lockdown was announced, and conceptualised Chaukhat Ki Goonj, a series of online concerts. In exchange for a 30-minute video performance, each artist receives Rs 2,000 worth of cash and rations from Anahad, which is enough to sustain them for 15 days.
The amount of money and supplies were decided upon after a survey conducted by the NGO determined that a fortnight was the period of time musicians needed sustenance for so as to have some breathing room in which to figure out the other professions, such as farming, they can switch to, says Anahad founder Abhinav Agarwal.
As many folk artists are unfamiliar with technology, they had to initially be trained in how to use their phone cameras to film themselves and then compress and send the files across to Anahad. The organisation also familiarised them with net banking. By the end of July, more than 2,200 folk musicians in 11 states had received funds, and plans are in place to extend support to an additional 1,500 musicians in the northeast and the south.
“The project was designed in a way to not give ‘charity’ but an opportunity to earn this relief,” says Agarwal. The videos are streamed daily on Anahad’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, and though the quality of the audio and visuals is not of a professional level, the series has garnered a small but loyal following. Every clip includes a donation link, which further helps raise funds.
Although India’s independent musicians are, relatively, more privileged than their folk music counterparts, they too were hit hard by the cessation of live shows. A large number has taken to “going live” on social media, either on their own channels or of gig organisers, such as audio-streaming service JioSaavn, whose occasional ‘Live Anywhere’ series has featured both indie and mainstream acts like Anand Bhaskar, Ankur Tewari and B. Praak.
Among other efforts are electronic music events company Gently Altered’s Telecast. Aired twice a month on Alteredtv.com, it gives its viewers the
Cancellations because of the lockdown have deprived musicians of one of their primary sources of income— live shows
option to switch between multiple stages or channels and create their own virtual rooms in which to dance with friends. Another endeavour, The Lockdown Gig, put together by artist manager Ryan Thomas and PR professional Schubert Fernandes, is streamed on Facebook and focuses on both established and upcoming singer-songwriters. It has, thus far, featured Nikhil D’Souza, Hanita Bhambri and Raghav Meattle, among others.
Meattle, 28, also organises his own gigs on Instagram. He is seen as somewhat of a ‘father figure’ to scores of aspiring artists whom he invites to perform on ‘Late Night Cone-versations’, his daily open mic session. This has earned him the moniker “Cone Daddy”. Over 300 vocalist-composers have been part of Meattle’s series, which commenced in early April and gets its name from the filter he uses to make his head appear as if it was a scoop of ice cream in a cone, during the stream. The overwhelming response to ‘Late Night Cone-versations’ encouraged Meattle to take it beyond social media and start hosting pay-what-you-can workshops, as well as ticketed gigs on Zoom, spotlighting four artists who sing four tunes as opposed to one or two on his Instagram feed. The bulk of the talent featured, he says, are those who have been unable to record their music on account of the lockdown. “It’s crazy how these guys are sitting on such amazing songs. That’s why I was like I might as well keep doing this every night,” says Meattle.