Independent musicians in search of a viable business model

Best model

New York / New Delhi-based singer-songwriter Rohan Solomon who works as a producer and mix-engineer in addition to releasing music adds, “People don’t buy music anymore; they listen on YouTube or Spotify and Apple Music. If you manage to get a huge number of streams, you can make some money but it is not the best business model to have.” He adds, “When other artistes hear my music and like the production, they reach out to me to produce their songs as well. Since I produce my own music, my production cost is almost nil. Everyone has to find a business model that works for them.”

Radio ga ga

Vineet Singh, who helmed a radio network company, suggests that English language independent artistes who are looking to tap a larger commercial global audience create music for a specific genre of radio. Stating that 2,50,000 radio stations in the US and Europe reach a cumulative weekly audience of nine billion people, he explains how they are formatted into genres, namely Pop40, HipHop, Adult contemporary, Rock, R&B, Country and others. Once you have decided the clear genre, radio needs music with ‘repeat listening value’. The song should be a maximum of three-minute 30 seconds and have a hummable hook. If the song is too eclectic, niche, or lengthy, they won’t play it. “This route has worked for me and can work for any artiste,” says Vineet Singh.

Independent artistes don’t need a record label to get their music out, they can do it themselves, says Rohan. “Digital platforms and distribution companies, apart from YouTube for videos, make sure that your song is distributed to all.”

Singer-author Vasindhara Vee
 

Layoffs on live shows

Jazz-soul singer and author Vasundhara Vee explains how musicians can earn potentially online and offline. “I know why I create a song and what role it has in the bigger picture — personally and professionally,” she says. “Some YouTubers don’t perform live. While many others make big bucks offline and don’t make much from streaming. If we look at Bollywood, the bulk of a singer’s income comes from premium live concerts that feature their movie songs. Digital fuels on-ground income,” Vasundhara adds.

Singer-songwriter/composer Gajendra Verma
 

Singer-songwriter/composer Gajendra Verma while concurring that a lot of independent artistes don’t have a big budget to support the music — as big labels have — emphasises that if the music is good, it will reach its audience, and make its audiences. “I have seen Bollywood artistes and artistes with big labels struggling to be on the map as well. If you plan well and work within a budget for a year or two, I think it is not very tough.”

Opera and pop singer Aditi Iyer
 

For teen singer Aditi Iyer, making money is less important than the joy of making music. “As indie artistes, we focus on getting our music out there despite not being financially supported by anybody,” she says.

Subir Malik, Founder, Keyboardist, Parikrama
 

Viable options

One cannot believe that singers can keep releasing songs on streaming platforms and earn millions; at best it can be an additional source of income, says Subir Malik, the founder and keyboardist of Parikrama. “It depends on what you want, if you are content driving a Scorpio and not an E class Merc, it is great,” he states, adding “But it is always advisable to have other related sources of income as well, like online classes, making music for ad films etc.”

Ritnika Nayak, CD Baby/Fuga, Country Head India
 

Reaching out

Ritnika Nayan, country head India for CD Baby/Fuga, insists that artistes should utilise all the avenues available to them to make money. “A lot of artistes spend months making the perfect song, but don’t put in the same effort to promote it. Coordinating things like playlist pitching, pre-save campaigns, social media plan, and traditional media are all important.”

Vikram Singh, Founder Virtual Planet
 

Original and appealing music, consistency and connecting with fans are the three factors that help a musician reach out to his followers, points out Vikram Singh, founder Virtual Planet. “Artistes should make sure they are connecting with the right distributor/aggregator who has the best interest first in your music and you,” he adds.

Performing artists have had a setback due to gig revenue drying up worldwide. “We live in hope that gigs return to the level of financial fulfilment as before but it is an uphill task given the costs of ‘band sustenance’ and live venue costs that seem currently unviable due to reduced audience participation,” feels Vineet Singh. However, Ritnika signs off on a positive note: “This is a growing industry but also expanding into newer territories. The good thing is live, paid gigs will return.”