Breakaway Song

Delhi-based band Parikrama on their website

When 10-year-old band,Parikrama,found that releasing their music through a popular record label had become an uphill task,they began to look for an alternative. Today,they are reaching out to fans on their own. What has helped them is the internet. And Parikrama is not alone. Years after its popularity in the ’90s,alternate music has now taken on a more diverse path to find an audience.

“The mainstream record labels abandoned us when they thought that the business was not as profitable as before. The record labels promoted only certain kinds of music,” says Shubha Mudgal,who had forayed into this genre through her Indi-pop number Mann ke Manjire and Ab Ke Sawan. According to the vocalist,the mainstream lull has given rise to an independent alternate music industry. “The mainstream music industry in India is still short-sighted,but we are not waiting for it any more,” she says. All of Mudgal’s recent works,including Raag Muse,have been promoted and distributed through the online Underscore Records.

With the availability of newer avenues to showcase their music,pop and indie music bands are giving a fresh shot at popularity. This may not have unleashed a blitzkrieg of alternate music,but have found a wider audience. On YouTube,there is a video of Raghu Dixit performing Eh Bhagwan Mujhko Tu…..Zindagi Dobara De. The Raghu Dixit Project,as the official website says,is an open house for musicians to collaborate. Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan,too,run their eight-year-old company,Underscore Records,on a similar idea.

According to singer Shaan,the audience has now matured. “They don’t like Bollywood numbers all the time,” he says. But those marketing and distributing music are still hesitant to try out unconventional work.

Marketing through unconventional channels has its benefits. This ensures the rights to their works stays with the artists. The returns they generate,even if it’s a trickle,too goes to the musicians. Indian Ocean,the contemporary fusion band,had began their journey with a record label. Last year,however,they launched their album Khajoor Road,16/330 as a free download. This consists of seven songs. The band was giving away one song free every month. They later compiled all the songs and released these on CD. The band offers a simple explanation for this kind of marketing. “This means no more negotiating contracts with record companies and fighting over copyright issues,” states the band on their website.

It won’t be entirely correct to say that Indian music companies have not realise the worth of alternate music yet. Advaita got EMI to release them recently. Band member Anindo Bose says,“While we have support from the music label,a lot of bands are breaking away and reaching out to the audience with their original stuff,not really caring about marketing dominated demands.”

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