MUSIC ENTREPRENEURS Network of notes
A
27-year-old Mumbai boy has won an award given by the US’s Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, where he is studying, for his software solution that
acts as a LinkedIn for professional musicians
The online medium has given artistes
a sense of independence, allowing them to upload biographies and profiles on
their own, without relying even on an agent. These platforms are also a means
of community-building. But we must also acknowledge that even online forums are
not as independent today as they are perceived to be.
Growing up in Mumbai, Sriram Emani
was always diligent, working hard at academics but also making time for his
passion — Carnatic music. When it came time to choose a career, however, his
family didn’t like the idea of him trying to earn a living as a vocalist. So he
chose an engineering degree at IIT-Bombay instead.
Sriram Emani, a second-year
management student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, originally
wanted to pursue a career in music. Now, his IndianRaga website, launched on
November 7, promises to help others fulfil that dream.
Now a second-year management student
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Emani, 27, has launched a
start-up that he hopes will make it easier for aspiring classical musicians to
choose their passion as their livelihood.
Launched on November 7, his company,
Indian Raga, has set up a website that operates as a sort of LinkedIn for
classical musicians, allowing artistes to create professional profiles and use
them to connect with industry stakeholders such as concert organisers, music
labels and recording companies.
Three weeks before its launch,
Indian Raga won the 2012 MIT IDEAS Global Challenge Community Choice award and
the 2012 US Creative Business Cup award, for its promising business model.
It has now also partnered with the
Kolkata-based ITC Sangeet Research Academy to organise a fellowship contest,
whose winners can avail of master classes and short-term residencies with gurus
from the academy.
In the largely unstructured sector
of Indian classical music, where breaks usually come through personal
connections and word-of-mouth publicity, Emani’s start-up is part of a growing
number of entrepreneurial ventures that aim to make access to opportunities
more organised and democratic.
Last year, for instance, Mumbaibased
Aishwarya Natarajan launched Indianuance, a company that provides professional
management to classical musicians, arranging, curating and marketing their programmes
with the aim of broadening their audience base.
Artists-India Gallery, an online
venture similar to Emani’s, features profiles and recordings of a range of
classical musicians, dancers and artistes.
Other ventures, such as Sonic
Octaves and Underscore Records, help artistes with the recording and sale of
their music.
“The biggest challenge for artistes
today is to translate their work into money, and their greatest need is to have
easier access to performance opportunities,” says Emani, speaking to HT over
the phone from Boston.
Emani co-founded Indian Raga with
engineers Anasuya Mandal and Neha Jaiswal. “I realised that an online community
would be a good platform where musicians and the industry could meet,” says
Emani.
In its first month of operations,
Indian Raga has already received 20 artiste profiles, most of them from the
Indian diaspora in the US and Canada.
“All over the world, the Indian
diaspora is eager to connect with the homeland. Thousands are learning and
performing classical music, and audiences are willing to pay well for
concerts,” says Emani, who wants his forum to benefit more artistes in India.
Some experts, however, believe that
building an audience base for fresh talent may not be so easy at home.
“Here, people expect everything that
is not Bollywood to be free or subsidised. We are quite spoilt,” says
Natarajan, 30, who manages careers for six musicians, including classical
guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya and Carnatic violinist duo Ganesh and
Kumaresh, through Indianuance.
Online forums such as Emani’s are
still a welcome change, says sitar and tabla maestro Nayan Ghosh. “A generation
ago, music circles in every city provided regular platforms and audiences for
concerts. Today, they are being replaced by corporate patrons who pay large
sums for big events, making it difficult for most artistes to procure concerts
for themselves and make a living.” Ghosh adds that the stress of trying to
network and hunting for concert slots also makes it difficult for lesser-known
artistes to focus on their music.
SHUBHA MUDGAL, vocalist and
co-founder of music label and e-store Underscore Records Forums that aim to
open up the classical music market and give organisers access to talented
musicians are an excellent idea. Such platforms could finally make this a
viable career option for talented youngsters.
- Aarefa Johari HT121209
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