A biz mindset helps indie musicians land more work

By Ayesha Venkataraman
I need five hands right now,” said 29-year-old Sohail Arora, in the middle of a hectic day, running between meetings. He has just finished mixing a track for a fashion show, while also managing 20 artists for a bass music booking agency, which has 35-40 gigs a month spread over various cities. And as a DJ, he probably averages four to six shows each month.
Arora wears multiple hats. He is the founder of the booking agency Krunk, a music producer and DJ with his own house music solo act, EZ Riser, and the one-half of the drum ‘n’ bass duo, Bay Beat Collective. He is not alone in his entrepreneurial spirit, as it is easier now for indie artists to have a diverse portfolio and make a living. The slow-burn evolution of musicians and DJs outside Bollywood and classical music, otherwise referred to as indie musicians, seems to have defied earlier predictions that it will see stunning growth. “I don’t think the industry has developed enough as yet to just be a good musician or DJ alone,” said Ashutosh Phatak, veteran composer and producer. There are, however, far greater opportunities to don multiple musical hats and earn a sizable income.
“The work I get varies a lot, but it can be anything from voiceovers, jingles, live shows, solo shows, studio tracks with other artists to programming nights for a couple of venues around town,” said Zarir Warden, lead singer of The Other People. These musicians are a part of a growing community of artists who are cleverly leveraging their skill set within the musical sphere.
According to Phatak’s estimates, there is now opportunity enough to make up to Rs 2 lakh a month based on the musician’s skill and business savvy. “I love the quote, a jack of all trades is a master of none, but often better than a master of one,” he said. At True School of Music, which he co-founded, he has identified around 167 job possibilities within the music industry. They include live sound engineer, music technician, teacher, music programmer, background score and radio jingle producer. His students learn the music business module so that they will be able to identify the various opportunities and make use of them. “Of the 19,000 commercials made, there are some 50 or 60 guys composing music for it. Also, there are 10 times more music festivals now than there were in the last 10 years put together. So the way the live scene is growing, there is far more demand for sound engineers on top of everything else,” said Phatak, who also co-founded the live gig venue, Blue Frog.
These numerous opportunities are a result of the indie industry’s growing success thanks to a better crop of homegrown artists that merit recognition, as well as a more knowledgeable audience with access to the internet, said Arjun S Ravi, music journalist and co-founder of NH7 website. “A lot of corporate patronage that would otherwise go to the mainstream industry is now coming to alternative spaces, because there is a community of listeners, artists and fans in significant numbers,” said Ravi, adding, “I feel most musicians would be more creatively satisfied if they were making a livelihood doing just their own music. But a lot of this comes down to the way people are. It’s an opportunity for some, while others might call it selling out.”