The music landscape has changed — and I say that not mildly but drastically — nearly beyond recognition.
But I’m more excited about music now than I ever have been. Because if you have anything to do with music (and most of us do as listeners) then I do believe that we are ascending the most exciting peak in music history.
Let me explain myself. I spent my teenage and younger years as an ardent music fan in urban India where my only exposure to global and Indian music was through music channels that worked closely with (major) music labels that promoted to us what they thought was worthwhile music.
Listening to or being introduced to any music outside of this context was rare. If I went to a music store my options were limited to music released by music companies and nothing else.
I lapped it up though, spent my last paisa and even went to concerts now and again, only to be disappointed by the classic rock covers that Indian bands never seemed to tire of doing.
It wasn’t the most vibrant of music scenes but I didn’t complain because I enjoyed the little music that I had access to. Also, I’ve seen the results of the music label and music channel relationship in the country these days and I’m just thankful that I’m not growing up now.
But compare the music scene that I knew as a kid to what we have now. I can listen to and buy any music I want from any part of the world today, I can watch and download music videos, behind the scenes footage of my favourite artistes via podcasts, read interviews and reviews that appear in international publications, interact with other music fans on an hourly basis, listen to my favourite radio shows from around the globe, watch concerts, TV performances and even get music for free.
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Not through illegal downloads (despite my love for sharing music, that’s just wrong) but through artistes actually making their music freely available online.
And let’s not forget, if you are an artiste trying to get your music heard then this really is your time. You don’t have to play 700 small gigs before a music executive sees you and signs you on. You don’t have to wait days and nights outside the homes and offices of powerful entertainment industry players to hand them a demo with a plea to give you a listen.
All you need now are tools like MySpace and YouTube, some smart viral and on ground strategising, a whole lot of passion and the will to go the distance. There is little doubt then that you will tap into your audience however big or small that might be.
If you want to give away your music for free but still retain your rights, you have the Creative Commons licence that protects you. There are a tremendous number of options available to musicians. I like to think of this as the age for the music entrepreneur who can easily succeed without a label or even a manager during the early stages of his careers.
There are two views. We could look at it and say that the music industry today is in peril due to piracy and illegal downloads, or we could say that the music industry grows and prospers due to the Internet and technological progress. To me, the latter holds far more true than the former, and the only question is: how do we optimise it?
