Indie Music in any language faces a huge challenge in India – what with the commercial power of ‘Bollywood’ – and the majority of the population not being able to think beyond film music. Unlike the rest of the world, there is virtually no independent modern music industry (of commercially viable music) in the country, that is not connected to films.
Even extremely talented Indian classical artists are made to prostitute themselves at opulent weddings by playing instrumental versions of film songs. Many people can’t differentiate between different genres of music – which is fine, because it’s not their forte – but then they should leave the choice of music to the people with the requisite knowledge i.e. the musicians.
World over, band managers scout new artists & bands with great music, and help them grow and get their music to the public – in India they only look for stars to manage. Not exactly what one could call an artistic or culturally rich approach.
Indie Music has to be nurtured and promoted.
If commercial success is always equated with artistic excellence, it lowers our standards of excellence.
