Fast Forward

Is MTV music forum going off track?
It was the third round of MTV co-hosting a seminar with Planet M. This forum is now getting to be the event of the year. It’s that one day when music industry professionals, artistes, media and the like get together ostensibly to discuss issues pertinent to the current time in India and the world.

Last year, it was the looming threat of the Internet to music labels, which grabbed collective attention. As also, a panel of artistes, who were given an opportunity, to discuss the merits and demerits of their respective labels. Ila Arun took her company to task, for scrimping on the number of beer bottles she was allowed to break while shooting her music video.

The very first edition of the MTV forum took a macro look at the music industry in India and milestones in the context of the international scenario. The just concluded Music Forum 2000 MTV & Planet M couldn’t have chosen a theme more pertinent than Artiste & Talent Management — Identifying & Turning Talent into Gold. But the panel discussion on Reverse Colonisation - Can the Indian Tune Go Global? was an unnecessary add-on.

Going by the press ads announcing Music Forum 2000, one believed that the forum was dedicated to Artiste & Talent Management. Imagine then the surprise that the declared topic was just a tip of the iceberg and much of the time was devoted to a panel discussion on Indian music going global. The issue of talent management was relegated to the backburner.

That’s where some of the participants felt singed. When asked what he thought about the Music Forum 2000 one music industry professional summed it up in one word: “Crap”. Another went a little softer and said “it was disappointing”. Both went on to list exactly the same sentiments already expressed about the topic advertised and the topics finally covered.

MTV couldn’t have had a better line up of speakers. Peter Asher (of the Peter and Gordon duo fame, now), Sr. Vice President, Sony Music Entertainment and Seymour Stein, President, Sire Records who’s a regular; and has nurtured some of the best rock talents and will be associated with great acts like Madonna and K. D. Lang among others.

The panelists were as varied as label heads like Tom Silverman of Tommy Records, Tony Fernandes, Warner Music (S. E. Asia) and Donna D’Cruz, RaSa, Rasam Music & Australian Music International. And artistes — Uday Benegal and Talvin Singh. The latter has the view of the global market and where his music (Indian origins) fits in.

But as for Benegal’s presence since he has left Indian shores he hasn’t released an album either in the US or in India and his presence as a panelist was unwarranted. Much of what was said by some of the panelists like Fernandes, D’Cruz, Silverman and Stein was true for their respective environments and were enlightening slants.

The artiste representation was necessary, but why were Indian pop acts left out. And if imports were preferable, Biddu could have been a better choice, than Uday, for he struggled in India, then struggled in UK and finally hit the big time with Kung Fu Fighting internationally and a series of great albums with Shweta Shetty and Alisha Chinai in India.

Also overlooked was the indigenous professional management viewpoint. Quite a few pioneers were present among the audience — Atur Churamani, Suresh Thomas, and Bashir Sheikh; the latter like Asher is an artiste-turned-label-professional.

Not one of them was asked to present the Indian side. Hence, the authentic Indian perspective was lacking. The other speakers’ views were typical for their representation, but it would have been invaluable and a more fruitful discussion, when our true blue desi managers had presented their case(s) in point.
Perhaps then Ranjit Barot’s speech off the floor would have tuned into a debate. One cannot deny that some of what was said from the platform that afternoon holds water in the Indian context.

But the Indian music industry is distinctive. For its genesis has been out of a spillover of the film industry and for any company to exclude film music from its repertoire would be business sacrilege. And since playback singers are not wanting in Talent Management, the Indian music scene and hence pop scene has been somewhat deficient in professional Talent-Artiste Management.

Suresh Thomas and Atur Churamani are industry professionals with a vision and a clue about the business. In fact, Thomas started Crescendo with the vision of not to make it just another record company. But have artiste management as its frontrunner.

For future forums it would be ideal for MTV to please assess the what’s so about the Indian music industry, and select a topic, which would take it to the next level. And, invite an Indian viewpoint from within the industry.

Close encounter with Rahman magic
Tony Fernandes of Warner Music SE Asia first encountered Indian music through A. R. Rahman’s Thiruda Thiruda. That he didn’t understand Tamil or Hindi, was no deterrent. “I just thought the music was so awesome that we had to do something about that,” he admitted. The promotion that went into this track had Thiruda Thiruda become a huge hit in Malaysia. Spurred on by this Indian conquest, Fernandes who was then collaborating with Magnasound followed up the Indian Pop rage with two more of the label’s artistes — Colonial Cousins and Alisha Chinai. They performed in Malaysia and were the rage just as any other international artist, and both artistes have sold multi platinum.

Indian singers cast a spell
Sony Music’s head honcho Peter Asher is another admirer of A. R. Rahman form across the seas. After Rahman’s show in Los Angeles he was “extremely impressed by the high quality of music and the singing and everything. I am not at all surprised that Andrew Lloyd Webber and he are working together on a musical - that makes a great deal of sense.”

What he couldn’t get over was that oddity (for the West) that despite the grand stage setting and the superlative music, the playback singers work with their sheet music and music stands; but sing incredibly well. Asher can only imagine if a singer existed who can sing like them, and had the glamour and style intensity of a Ricky Martin, the world would be their oyster.

Breaking language barriers
European artistes have long realized the value in exporting and distributing music to an American audience. And today’s artistes are increasingly turning to the Internet as their method of choice for reaching audiences abroad. Unfortunately, these artistes’ European fans are often left out in the cold, as access to online music has lagged behind U.S. alternatives.

Language barriers and a lack of localized content have made navigating music web sites problematic for many European music fans. Now, an online Music Service Provider has launched French, German and Spanish translations, allowing fans to access a vast catalogue of MP3s and music-related services in their native language for the firsts time.

It is wonderful that Spanish and non-English speaking fans can have easier access to their favorite music. International artists are already well represented on the Internet. Over 19,000 European artists are currently utilizing the Internet to distribute their music.

The introduction of foreign language web sites is expected to broaden the reach of those artists to music fans by creating more language friendly offerings. “Over 698,000 legally authorised songs are available for free downloading and it’s exciting that international consumers are now gaining greater access to music.”

Madonna on BBC
*Madonna is to make her first appearance on the BBC’s flagship music show Top Of The Pops for over two years. The last appearance on the show was in 1998 when she sang The Power Of Goodbye. Madonna will sing her forthcoming single Don’t Tell Me. She is also due to perform her first live show in Britain.

Beatles storm the charts, again
*The Beatles’ new album 1 has barely hit the racks and already it has stormed to the top of the charts. Despite their numeros successes, the surviving members of the band are still overjoyed. The compilation album 1, which features 27 Number 1 hits on both sides of the Atlantic, went platinum during the weekend.

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