In the late '90s, India witnessed a burgeoning indie pop scene that brought forth a wave of fresh, non-mainstream, non-film music. This period marked a shift where artists experimented with different genres, sounds, and lyrics, appealing to a younger audience looking for something beyond traditional film music. Artists like Shaan, the late KK, Alisha Chinai, Bombay Vikings, Aryans, Silk Route Euphoria, Colonial Cousins, Lucky Ali et al were at the forefront of this movement, creating music and music videos which were distinct from the dominant Bollywood sound and visuals.
These artists and their music significantly shaped India's indie pop landscape during the late '90s. Remember the video of a shirtless Milind Soman arriving in a box screaming ‘Made in India’, in Alisha Chinai’s Made in India from her eponymous album from 1995? Or Silk Route singing Dooba Dooba underwater from their smash-hit album, Boondein, from 1998? Those are the videos I’m referring to. Close to three decades have passed, but the visuals remain fresh in our minds. Ye olde days when television had music and so did MTV and Channel V.
The hardware generation – Cassettes, CDs and TV
This was the era before the internet, smartphones and social media — three ubiquitous things without which life looks unimaginable in 2023. Cassettes, CDs, television and radio were the modes of music consumption and discovery back then. If you wanted to know what was trending, you didn’t have an app that told you or a search engine to fall back on. You had to do it manually. I remember going with my uncle to the nearby music store every month to buy cassettes which were my companions before they lost the battle to modern technology. Just as video killed the radio star, the MP3 player killed the cassette player. Life went on. More on that in a bit.
Towards the turn of the new millennium, the Indie pop scene saw many shifts and turns. While the momentum in the Indie-pop circuit more or less continued, the rise of film-mainstream music gave it tough competition. Artists like Shaan, Lucky Ali, Mohit Chauhan (Silk Route), and KK pivoted towards Bollywood and explored playback singing. Shaan and KK had some memorable hits in the early 2000s like Koi Kahe (Dil Chahta Hai), It’s the Time to Disco (Kal Ho Na Ho), and their solo successes across various films spanning different genres. Mohit Chauhan found success in songs like Guncha Koi, Sabse Peeche Hum Khade, Tum Se Hi, et al. Lucky Ali too had a few hits. The list went on.
Reality shows and MP3 players take centre stage
During the mid-2000s, there was something that was slowly gaining pace and on its way to alter the music industry — music-based reality TV. Shows such as Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Indian Idol (an Indian adaptation of the US-based show of the same name), Fame Gurukul, and Voice of India marked a new era of pop fused with film music. All shows had a similar format and premise — budding singers from across the country could compete with one another in a show judged by celebrity singers and music directors for the top prize — a cash prize and record deal with a popular label for a music album and also video(s) in certain cases. All these shows over the years have given India a diverse array of songs and singers, from Abhijit Sawant to Monali Thakur to Arijit Singh, who had their own stories to tell.
Around the same time, cassettes and CDs were being phased out by the increasingly popular portable media players, also known as MP3 players. The internet penetration in India was on the rise, making it easier for people to explore, discover and share music. Broadband internet and a couple of gigabytes of space to store songs were more than enough for music lovers to enjoy music on the go. MTV and Channel V too had died, with air time being given to reality shows and other non-musical programming, marking a shift in music consumption. TV, cassettes, and CDs had lost the battle to modern technology, while indie pop’s place was slowly taken by Bollywood music.
EY, in its report, The Music Creator Economy: The Rise of Music Publishing in India 2023, said that opposed to global music markets which are
artist-driven, the Indian music market continues to be highly inclined towards film music, with 70% of music consumption being film-driven and 75-80% of recorded music revenue in India being film-based.
Smartphones, streaming and shorts: Current scenario
As time passed and technology evolved, so changed music consumption patterns. MP3 players, which were the epitome of musical cool in the late 2000s and early 2010s, faced unexpected competition with the rise of smartphones. As smartphones began to serve as portable music players, allowing people to access vast libraries of songs, podcasts, and other audio content from anywhere, MP3 players too began to fade to black. They met a fate similar to cassettes, CDs and walkmans.
The advent of streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and Shorts, JioSaavn, Wynk, et al, coupled with cheaper and faster internet services, further cemented smartphones as a one-stop-shop for music consumption, discovery and sharing. This also made it incredibly convenient to explore diverse genres and artists and allowed users to create playlists, follow their favourite musicians, and discover new tracks based on their preferences.
An interesting trend was observed in India over the past few years which stood as an anomaly to the digitalisation wave — the resurgence of vinyl. At a time when music consumption was going digital, old-school vinyls suddenly made their way back, intertwining nostalgia with a renewed appreciation for tangible music. This resurgence was fuelled by boutique stores and music festivals, which infused a vintage charm into the modern music scene while rekindling the allure of the warm, rich sound of the vinyl.
Instagram Reels and YouTube shorts have also had a profound impact on music consumption and discovery in recent times. They have allowed users to create short, engaging videos set to music snippets, usually under 60 seconds in length. This has become a popular way for creators to showcase their creativity, often using trending or popular tracks. Some songs that get featured in such reels gain traction and can quickly go viral, boosting their popularity and streaming numbers. For example, Aditya Gadhvi and Achint’s Khalasi from Coke Studio Bharat was released in July and was a relatively lesser-known song until mid-October when it exploded on social media through reels and went on to become one of my most viral songs of the year. As the years roll by, the relationship between smartphones and music continues to evolve, shaping how we consume, create, and interact with musical content.
(Edited by : Vijay Anand)
First Published: Dec 31, 2023 8:57 AM IST
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