Beyond Bollywood, Here are 10 Things That Indian Musicians Need to Succeed

In India, where the music industry is not fully structured and regulated, it gets difficult for artists to know what they need and professionals to know what to set the table with, especially with the bottom line breathing down their backs and the societal trappings of failure raising their haunches. A general rule of thumb though is to offer a buffet — because who doesn’t love abundance?

To demystify the space of music and artist development, we spoke to musicians to understand what must go into a basic springboard or starter pack for people seeking a career in the arts. Here’s what we learned. 

1. A committed artist manager who’s there for the long run and not just the star innings 

“The people I’ve worked with, they use me till the time they can and once they’re done, they move on to the next artist,” says hip-hop artist MC Heam who rose to fame on MTV Hustle and is also a music instructor at The Dharavi Dream Project. In the artist’s experience, he’s observed that artist development isn’t prioritized at all, but that the space is overwhelmed by agencies, people and an infrastructure that’s parasitic and only sticks around till the time the musician is a trend, before moving on. “You need the right manager or team to become big and think long-term, you need someone to guide you to plan a career, to sort paperwork, read the fine print, and all those sorts of things,” MC Heam says. 

The country seems to have an A&R problem. That’s right. A&R executives are not just the folks who scout talent, but also the people who look into the various facets of developing, connecting and supporting an artist before every release. It’s important to understand that some of the job roles within the music industry in India also do tend to overlap. As singer-songwriter and digital creator Avanti Nagral puts it, “So your management is not necessarily your booking agency, and they’re not necessarily the people who get you your brand deals, and not necessarily the person who finds the right partner in different spaces. These are verticalized operations, but in India, currently, the way the industry exists, it’s all pretty much one hodgepodge.”

When we reached out to artists, we also learned that they’re looking for managers who specialize in scaling artists — a role that’s separate from that of a booking agent who is also really important to promote and secure live shows. Mumbai-based multilingual rapper FeniFina too echoed the necessity of skilled artist managers. “India is brewing with talent. We need people who understand the culture and the business; brands and teams to bring underground talent forward by giving them opportunities that are usually given to the same five commercial artists. Artist managers need to be in tune with the trends, tricks and tips that align with their artist and push forward content and branding to bring in new audience/listeners,” she says.

2. A 360-degree artist team

For a lot of artists, especially indie artists, their team is that of one — themselves. DIY is the lifeblood of a musician’s enterprise for reasons such as lack of trust, access, knowledge, resources and financial feasibility. New Delhi singer-songwriter Sagar Verma looks within his network of friends and family to sustain his artistry. “My mum gives great feedback, my dad pushes me to stay consistent, my twin brother helps me shoot challenging videos on a moving cycle, and my bhaiya-bhabhi (brother and sister-in-law) help me run Facebook ads and take crucial decisions. My producer friend Geetanjali is a great partner in crime for the high-quality covers I’ve started posting recently,” says Verma. The artist encourages musicians to become the dream team they wish they had access to by working with peers or close ones.

Being a team unto oneself is also a double-edged sword for many. Hip-hop artist, as well as events and operations scene ninja Pratika Prabhune (who goes by her first name), says, “I think I don’t have a dream team because I’m constantly trying to make sure I’m doing the best I can, and for some reason, I haven’t been able to trust too many people with that vision, so I end up doing most of the work myself.” She’s an artist who has spent years building connections as a music business and entertainment professional, and maintains that “to target doing that (making art) the right way is the goal, without spoiling relations.”

For all these artists, looking for a team has become a search they’re invested in. Musicians such as Mumbai singer-songwriter Gaya have been doing things such as conceptualizing, directing, editing and producing by themselves while roping in creative talent when they can during the journey. But in order to have a sustainable and scalable model to survive, she’s on a mission to extend her crew. “I see my dream team having a balance of artists and strategic, creative minds. The difficulty lies in finding the right people who get you, who are invested in you, and feel the need to have skin in the game,” she says.

Nagral, who has a professional team in both the U.S. and India, underlines the need for gatekeeping of opportunities to stop in order to build artist-friendly infrastructure as well as an urgency to streamline the music industry. “Everyone has been incredible, but there are very, very, very few people who understand how to build an artist and partner with someone’s vision,” she says.

Some of the areas the musicians we spoke to marked as domains in which they need help (in addition to having a manager and booking agent) are social media, business, marketing and sales, branding, time to focus on and build their art, graphic design, studio setup and team, photography, videography, creative production, publishing, distribution, the law, paid partnerships, collaborations, synch and licensing, and more.

3. A special focus on digital presence 

Social media has emerged as a game-changer in the last two decades, and its value has particularly been boosted post the pandemic as artists and industry professionals too acknowledge the role it plays in their careers. Just look at the cases of Yashraj Mukhate, Anumita Nadesan, Noor Chahal, Iqlipse Nova, Bhuban Badyakar, Darshan Raval, Aksh Baghla and more. That being said, with the volume of users and creators, social media has also become an oversaturated, tough nut to crack. Amidst this, Gaya finds a silver lining. She says, “The flip side of formulaic social media platforms is that there are a set number of things you can do, be it on Meta or Spotify or YouTube, that will get you traction.”

So you set up an account and post your first reel. What happens afterward? Sources point to not only good content but also community building that bolsters an artist’s digital presence. “It’s so much more valuable to have 1,000 super fans than it is to have 100,000 eyeballs in my opinion because those are people who are showing up for you,” says Nagral, “Since it’s about nurturing the community you have and finding that discoverable audience… Because, sure, engagement is important — I feel that strongly particularly as a majority of our income stream comes from the level of engagement — but not at the cost of losing authenticity.” The artist also appreciates social media for its daily feedback mechanism and as a tool to understand the audience’s opinion as well as what they’re looking for in terms of art. 

4. Building the right kind of content and community

For Pune-based multilingual, multidisciplinary musician and digital creator Antara Nandy (who often makes tracks with her sister Ankita Nandy), balancing music and social media became a tough act when she started college. So she relied on the quickness of it all. Her mum would film Nandy and her sister in one take (to save time in synching and edits) and they would upload the video to social media. “I still feel that people who are on social media, who are my audience, people who watch my content, they’re intelligent people, they know what’s real and what’s not. So, I feel like people enjoyed the raw and real content a lot more than the doctored content. I would still love to put out unedited, raw videos as opposed to only edited, mixed and mastered pieces,” she says, “In the early days when I was in school, I would just adjust the frame, put my mom’s phone in front of me, click the video button and start singing with my electronic tanpura. That’s how it began.”

For some musicians, creating content for social media on a daily basis is not only near impossible, it’s also a conscious choice. “Unlike with content creators, this is one of many things an artist needs to do (such as self-practice, writing, producing and composing original music for releases, arranging and practicing music for live performances, commercial composition work, traveling for shows and events, etc.). I do really enjoy it when I’m in the mood, but the pressure to be consistent kills the joy of creating,” says singer-songwriter Aditi Ramesh. Artists like Verma too believe in quality over quantity. He views the digital landscape as an endless game where artists need to be mindful of when to play. Verma elaborates, “I think that a healthy way of looking at social media is to look at it as all a part of your self-expression. The way we as artists look at our lyrics, our instruments, our sense of style and artworks, social media needs to be looked at as simply another pillar for self-expression. Whether it’s stories, posts, IG Lives or reels, artists need to think of it as a place to authentically show up, build connections and express themselves (if that’s what they need.)”

5. Making peace with creating content — daily?

During our conversations with musicians, we also heard from them about how they humanly can’t deliver their best performance every day and manufacture a charade of perfection for social media. They also voiced concerns about hopping on trends because it might not resonate with them, their values or their vibe. Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Hriday Gattani shares, “For me, art is not a stroke of lightning. It’s not a daily thing. And I can’t expect myself, or any artist to be honest, to be at a 100% level of brilliance on a daily basis. Art has its downs and lows and it has its tides to kind of not only always formulate, but also show something impure yet beautiful.” He adds, “I struggle with it massively and I’m definitely not one to post on a daily basis. I know I should, but it’s not a game that I feel like playing because I want to be someone who lasts for longer, you know?”. Musicians we spoke to echoed this thought with Jammu-based protean hip-hop artist Shen B proposing that “it’s a game of balance.”

6. Learning foolproof techniques to acing social media 

All the artists we spoke with for this story spotlighted a need to work with social media professionals. They also shared some of the best formats that worked for them that include but are not limited to tips and hacks, transition videos, calls to action, BTS, collaborative content, mashups, remixes, covers with an original spin, new music, personal tidbits, freestyle reels, fashion content, stories that disappear after 24 hours, music reels that are also wholesome, educational and inspirational, exciting and new concepts, their opinions, etc. Mumbai’s hip-hop breakout Saniya MQ also shares that it helps to post content that everyone clicks with. She says, “When I wrote a rap about the lockdown, it was a problem that was normal for everybody. When I post relatable content, people connect with it more.”

7. An economical way of making music

Depending on who you ask, making music can be extremely expensive or an in-house job if you have the experience and connections. Nonetheless, it’s not only the main artist that needs to get paid; the sound engineer, the instrumentalists, the producer, the lyricist, etc. need to be remunerated as well. Mixing and mastering must also happen after. All too often, music is not a one-person job. 

“My expenses in the content space are negligible. My revenue from the content space is high. My expenses in the music space are extremely high. My revenue from the music space is negligible to okay. Then if you put out the music, the music marketing, in an ideal world, for a top 40 artist… if their production cost is X, their marketing cost will often be 10X. That’s not possible for independent artists,” says Nagral, “I can probably count on one hand the number of musicians in the independent space from India who are able to sustain simply off of just music income, just streaming and live touring. Every single other person, who either has a part-time job or potentially a full-time job on the side, is teaching, writing, producing for other people, doing ads, jingles, whatever it might be.”

For many, like Mumbai-based Tamil American musician Sandhya Chari, the labor intensiveness doesn’t stop at releasing the song and the music video. Beyond being marketed right and pitched for reviews, support and endorsements, it needs to be seen by the right people. But more often than not, Chari finds herself and others “investing more into getting the music out than they’ve managed to get in return.” 

It doesn’t take a Rolling Stone story to know that music today is more than just audio. It’s also a video, a kickass album/single cover, a multidisciplinary campaign, a narrative, a tour, a press run, a social media takeover, a charts competition, fan events, awards validation and so much more. “Making a song is easy; composing a song is easy for me because that’s my job. Everything else is challenging,” remarks MC Heam.

8. A publicist who can make a splash

Publicists can not only let people know about your music, but they can also pass on your story. A PR professional can streamline a narrative, present it appropriately to a diverse spectrum of media and work towards getting your music heard and seen by the maximum number of people. Says Shen B, “We love it when someone is interested in why we did this, what was the reason behind it, etc. And when someone from a very respectable platform publishes your work, you reach the most serious of audiences. A professional publicist helps you a lot and all artists should strive to get a publicist who can give context to their art.”

Working with localized PR reps can also help musicians to tap into multiple markets as the temperament and appetite of listeners shift around the world. “Hiring a professional means that they’re constantly up-to-date with what’s in and what’s not, and what publications and magazines would work for you and what would not. So, I think it’s a great step for getting your foot in the right door, and to let the right audience know about your brand and who you are as an artist and what your music means on a larger scale,” shares Chari.

For artists functioning in a hybrid manner like Nagral, PR has worked in two ways: reaching out to platforms and journalists directly connecting with her. “I see the value of having press and publications, but interestingly what sometimes happens is… I will post about something that has happened (where she launched a collaboration and performed). The next thing I know, I have 10 journalists calling me from different newspapers, asking to cover and profile the story. So instead of me chasing them, they are basing it now off of a social media post to publish. Part of this is also the unfortunate reality of lesser and lesser people reading magazines, reading newspapers, reading all of these things. I do think it’s important from a credibility perspective, but at the same time, I think that, in today’s world, that comes in different ways through individual relationship building, through what you’re building and people seeing value in covering that,” she shares. The musician/digital creator does see value in hiring a publicist down the line but maintains that it’s an expense that can’t be taken on at the moment.

Nandy has witnessed artists leveling up through proper PR. She says, “I have seen people with lesser social media numbers grow faster than me because of good PR activities over a shorter span.” Mumbai-raised, L.A.-based singer-songwriter Natania maintains that it takes a village to function as an artist and that having a publicist in one’s corner is “so important to reach a wider network of people and get your name out there. To [even] know about the village you need a publicist, haha!”, she says.

Verma recommends that musicians who are starting out should build their craft and their audience, forge a connection with them and add value to their lives. He underlines these as the basics. And when the core chips fall into place, he’s found working with a publicist to be helpful. “The last time I hired a professional, I was able to land some really important editorials. And they really helped me objectively question a lot of things about my brand and vision. A lot of industry folks started following my journey from that point, and got to know that I existed. It adds a lot of credibility towards what we’re building as artists, and there is definitely brand value there,” he shares.

9. Networking with industry stakeholders and professionals + mentorship and support

Everyone keeps jabbering on about how Rome wasn’t built in a day, but hey, Rome also wasn’t built by one person! Like for most art, enterprises, projects and organizations, networking can not only bring insight and perspective, but also connections that can aid in implementing one’s vision. 

This too might come with its own set of hurdles and challenges. It’s not a narrow route, but it’s a road most people find themselves journeying on at some point in their professions. Bengaluru singer-songwriter and music entrepreneur Jay Anand shares, “I have spent most of the early years in my career not trying to network or connect with people because I was still not publicly out at that time (Anand’s gender orientation is that of a trans man) and there’s a lot of dysphoria that surrounds me and it gets tricky to find a safe space for the kind of people you are working with as well.” The artist/educator then set up LGBTQIA+ sensitivity as the first layer of filtration on priority. “It does get tricky. So, recently I was trying to find queer musicians who I could probably play with and there are so few instrumentalists within the entire space even when I was keeping the search remote and pan India,” he says. Anand now sees a need for networks, mixers and registries that protect identities and connect queer folks not only with each other but also allies who are open to having a conversation and communicating professionally. 

The musicians we spoke with also voiced the benefits of the collective sharing a sense of camaraderie. Verma poses, “It’d be really helpful to have a community with industry insiders sharing knowledge and extending support to artists. And just people being there for each other a little more. Sometimes all you need to hear is someone from your community telling you that you’re not alone.”

10. Transparency from labels

Earlier in this piece, Nagral shared that there’s a fair amount of gatekeeping in the Indian music industry and the artists we spoke with resonated the same, particularly when it comes to labels. Now, it takes some searching around the Internet to find the right point of contact at a label, especially if one has not had the opportunity to network or go to events where the brass or their teams are present. And then it also takes a good deal of research and talking to people in the industry to figure out how to pitch oneself on mail. Once the artist deciphers both, they tend to cross their fingers or pray to whichever deity they believe in and hit send. Do they actually receive a response? Well, not most of the time; it’s notoriously rare. Shen B opines on such situations, “There needs to be a legit way to connect with the labels. One should get to pitch their music and get a response, even if it’s a rejection. I would also love to get a response with feedback that tells me what works and what doesn’t. There should be a proper or transparent segment for artists to get connected with the labels.”