No predictions please!

HIGH NOTES

In my opinion, the most interesting thing about music has got to be its unpredictability. A long time ago I bothered myself with the thought of when the world would actually run out of rhythms, musical ideas and strategies to engage audiences. Fortunately for me, with maturity came the realisation that this would never happen.

I like to think that the British band The Arctic Monkeys has proved that the music world is still dynamite and far from giving in to its detractors. Among the world's largest independent labels, Domino Records signed the Arctic Monkeys in 2005. But the band were already superstars by then.

The barely 20-year-old Sheffield natives had already caught the attention of the music world through extensive touring and, more importantly, offering their music for free circulation on the internet...internet being the key word here.

Chat rooms, blogs and P2P sites ensured that in a year's time, the band were the most sought after on search engines. It wasn't long before radio, TV and the press picked up on the vibe and Domino Records decided to sign the band.

Eventually, their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, went on to set a record for the highest first-week sales in UK music history, selling 1,20,000 copies in a single day. In America too the band stepped onto the album charts at #24, among the highest entries for an independent label in the US.

But in case you are wondering, it's not all hype and no talent to show for. The Arctic Monkeys are the answer to every well-produced, polished British band that you ever heard. The albums have the grit, zeal and wit that most of us could only see in an otherworldly street poet.

Raw punk attitude interspersed with electrifying energy and spiky guitar riffs make the Monkeys a favourite to anyone with a rebel bent or soft spot for anything punk or post punk. The Arctic Monkeys' street natured-ness is their trump and it's been played with true genius.

What makes The Arctic Monkeys' case so special is the manner in which everything fell into place in exactly the way that it was supposed to. And that's what music is about.

Planning can sometimes tip the boat just a tad bit too much or, as The Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner sings, "Anticipation has a habit to set you up for disappointment"

But planning can be good too. Gnarls Barkley, the mysterious union of Gorillaz producer/Beatles re-mixer Dangermouse and Atlanta based soul/hip-hop artist Cee-Lo, recently released the single, "Crazy" from their album, St Elsewhere released on Warner Records in India.

The song was distributed as a white label (independent) to radio, press and the labels. Warner UK quickly picked up the record and thus began the build up to the biggest single and the most anticipated new release of summer 2006.

The song, "Crazy" reached #1 on the UK singles charts based solely on digital downloads, the only song to ever do this till date. It continued to even better when the physical single was released in retail across the UK do a week later.

Music companies and artistes have been quick to recognise that digital music is the new way to reach an ever-expanding consumer base.

While physical music sales dropped about 6 per cent, last year also saw digital music sales triple from $400 million to approximately to $1.1 billion, a landmark figure in these times of stormy change.

And so it's this need to tap into new digital avenues and methods of interacting with consumers that is going to prove the winning streak for the artistes and their companies. In India, however, the process has yet to get into fully operational mode.

Relying largely on TV advertising and video marketing formulas and waiting for the music to get into stores is still the norm as far as music goes despite rampant talk about a thriving digital media strategy. But things will change, we hope, soon enough.