How musicians are taking the digital route to connect with audience and earn a living

Enter the age of personalised, intimate concerts: with COVID-19 making live gigs impossible for now, artistes explore ways to stay connected with audiences and via ticketed shows online

“It is heart-warming to perform and speak to listeners during an online concert. It gives us hope during these difficult times,” says singer Shilpa Rao of her live session from her home in Mumbai on Homejam, a digital platform, that lets in only 24 members at a time. A few days ago, Benny Dayal went live on two days from his home in New Jersey for fans in the US, Canada and Australia on the same platform. Other artistes hosted by Homejam include Haricharan, Andreah Jeremiah and Srinivas.

The music industry has switched to digital platforms due to the pandemic-induced restrictions on live events. While the initial days of the lockdown saw many of them going live on their social media handles, enabling fans to listen and interact with them for free, over the past few months, they have been switching to ticketed concerts as a source of income.

Going by the response to these concerts, it looks like the artistes are in it for the long haul. Platforms such as Paytm Insider and bookmyshow have seen a steady rise in ticketed virtual performances. Paytm Insider, for example, has over 70 programmes scheduled this month, with tickets priced from ₹40 onwards.

“There has been a three- to four-time increase in the number of online music events. Regional musicians and bands are performing as well, thus crossing geographical and language barriers,” says Varun Khare, business head — live entertainment (IPs and Partnerships), Paytm Insider. “New content is being developed. On our part, we are working on improving the output. So, Besides Zoom-based events, we have a new streaming facility that supports high resolution videos and enhances the audience experience as they can interact with the artiste,” he says.

Initially, pharmaceutical companies came forward to fund online concerts to boost the morale of their employees, doctors and health workers, says Tarsame Mittal, founder of Mumbai-based TM Talent Management, an artist management firm.

“Even though not all artistes are keen about digital platforms, this is the only option now. We are doing private gigs for corporates through Zoom and other platforms. Amit Trivedi, Vishal-Sekhar, Sukhwinder Singh, Anusha Mani, Divya Kumar and Mohammed Irfan are some of the musicians who have performed for us,” he says.

Up-and-coming artistes as well as seasoned performers are moving into the digital space. Bhoomi, a Kolkata-based urban folk band formed 21 years ago, will have its first digital concert on September 20 on Paytm Insider. Soumitra Ray, 60-year-old founder of Bhoomi, says, “The pandemic has forced us to find a new performance space. Even if we don’t make a profit, we are happy that people will be entertained. They would know that we are still going strong.”

Musicians have adapted to the situation by setting up high quality broadcasting studios and equipment at home. (This costs between ₹25,000 to ₹2 lakh.) Several studios in the metros and major cities are now providing facilities for singers and bands to shoot gigs and stream them live or ‘deferred’ live.

Govind Vasantha, frontman of Kerala-based Thaikkudam Bridge, is excited that the band finally got together after six months for a show, albeit a digital one. They recorded a one-hour session at MIJ studio in Kochi for a US-based retail giant to be streamed in connection with their annual conference next month. “We made a lot of mistakes! We were worried — but we got it right after a few songs,” he says.

Wonderwall Media, which manages the band, has been organising recorded and live shows for corporate clients and cultural organisations in the US and West Asia. They held events featuring several singers, including one for the Detroit Malayalee Association, streamed during Onam. It featured Sithara Krishnakumar, Sayanora Philip, KS Harishankar, Sachin Warrier and Anoop Sankar. “We recorded sessions for cultural associations in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Paris and Singapore. Since live streaming comes with technical glitches, many clients prefer recorded gigs. We also customise the performances, say with the client’s logo, if needed,” says Lakshmi Venugopal, head (corporate communications), Wonderwall.

While MNCs are the major clients and organisers of digital shows, the NRI community is also funding concerts. Sitar maestro Purbayan Chatterjee and his wife, ghazal exponent Gayatri Asokan, have been performing from their home in Mumbai for a few such organisations in the US. “Last year we had toured the US for a month and some of those organisers arranged for digital concerts. There are about 100 people for each concert. Since people are paying to listen to us, it became important to invest in a high quality studioIt helped that my husband is a techno geek. Although some musicians haven’t yet got the hang of digital platforms, it is a reality that physical concerts won’t happen any time soon,” Gayatri says.