Wanting again, what had been the challenges and alternatives whenever you began out?
Again then, there was no streaming. You needed to make an album on bodily media, like CDs. Now, folks can arrange a studio of their houses, however at the moment, it wasn’t reasonably priced. You didn’t have the expertise of right this moment that has made it straightforward now. You needed to guide a studio to document your album, for which you wanted cash. Then, you needed to take it to a label, who would then resolve in the event that they needed to take you on board or not. Whenever you take the stay music scene, it was rock music that was dominating. Hip hop hardly had an area there as properly. In golf equipment, they used to play solely English music. It was very uncommon to see native artistes being supported by golf equipment, and even when that occurred, it was a uncommon case. So, when you had been an artiste again then, most of those channels had been blocked. Now, you may sit in your bed room, document and make your music attain the viewers. There are artistes who’re pulling it off with only a laptop computer and a sound card. In that sense, beginning our journey was a problem. You wanted entry to folks and expertise although you had expertise.
So, what saved you going?
There have been lots of people vibing to hip hop, so we believed that when we obtained our music out to them, the remaining would comply with mechanically. So, we tapped into faculty culturals. I’d rap and Jeeva would produce the music. The audiences used to have a look at our music with amazement. However we couldn’t flip that right into a business enterprise. So, we felt we’d construct our model first. When others would carry out with an entire band, we’d be simply two or three folks on stage. A lot of the instances, we’d get disqualified as a result of we didn’t meet the factors for a band. However the crowd used to like our music. Then, we obtained to some extent the place they’d allow us to carry out our set in its entirety. Later, we began getting invitations to carry out in faculties. It was solely the response from the group that saved us going. Later, utilizing the prize cash that we gained from music contests, we employed a studio and minimize out our album. Some individuals who had seen us carry out needed to work with us. However even after our first album, there was not some ways to maintain financially, not like right this moment, when you have got YouTube and streaming. So, we began looking for alternate income streams and branched into cinema. However within the final 5 years, issues have modified. If the identical alternatives that now we have right this moment had been there then, we’d have gotten an enormous unbiased music scene right here by now.
How do you suppose the indie music scene has modified now?
Now, non-film music albums are being produced, however the idea isn’t in favour of the artistes. Again then, although you had expertise, you needed to look ahead to a possibility to point out it. However now, in case you have expertise, you may create your alternative with expertise, in relation to the music business. The 90s had been the golden age of the music enterprise as you possibly can promote music. Then, the enterprise dropped after music went on-line, and now, income alternatives are getting structured, so it is determined by us on how we faucet into it. There may be heavy competitors. High quality over amount. There have been a number of checks again then. Should you had 10 songs releasing over per week then, now, you have got 100 songs being put out. The shelf house of your product has additionally grow to be shorter. However consuming indie music hasn’t grow to be a tradition but. You must make that right into a behavior and for that, you want a motion.
What made you wish to nurture upcoming musicians? How totally different is your initiative going to be totally different from what a music label does?
After we began out, we needed to develop a hip hop scene right here. However our journey went on a distinct route as soon as we entered movies. You may handpick the variety of rappers who grew to become common after us up to now 10 years. That is fairly unhappy. Whereas the scene has modified within the Hindi and Punjabi music scene, right here, we hardly have any notable Tamil hip hop names within the mainstream. For an artiste to begin out on his personal and set up himself, he must be proven the best way. They want consciousness about working with streaming platforms, publishing rights and the channels they need to create their very own income with their music. The indie songs that now we have right this moment are additionally depending on stars. We now have a enterprise mannequin during which folks get a hero and a heroine, and shoot a music video with them. However the artiste who made the music isn’t the one who’s the centre of consideration right here. They then method a label and publish the video. We now have not reached that time the place folks put money into the artiste, moderately than in film stars, not like within the west, the place it’s a Justin Bieber or a Kanye West who’re the celebrities of their music movies. For this reason most of our music movies are similar to film songs. So, many drop out from the scene after hanging on for 2 or three years as they don’t seem to be capable of monetise their music. Additionally, moving into collaborations with different musicians and songwriters is determined by the networking abilities of the person artiste as they’re largely faculty youngsters or those that have simply handed out of school. But when there already exists a spot that has a pool of musicians and songwriters from the place he can decide and select collaborators, it’d grow to be even simpler for the artiste.
However do you suppose hip hop, as a style, has acceptance amongst our folks?
Hip hop is essentially the most offered and most money-making style on the planet. It dominates the Billboard charts. A majority of the most important artistes, like Kanye and Dr Dre, are all rappers. Hip hop artiste Kendrick Lamar gained a Pulitzer, which hasn’t occurred earlier than. So, if that is occurring within the west, it’s going to trickle down and grow to be a development right here as properly. Ten years again, we didn’t see our stars moving into Hollywood films, however now, we see it occurring ceaselessly. So, it’s potential for our musicians, too, to be accepted at a worldwide degree. Sure, it’s a distant dream proper now, however Hiphop Tamizha, too, was a distant dream at one level of time. When Punjabi hip hop artistes have been capable of escape internationally, why not Tamil hip hop artistes? However you’ll need a bunch of artistes to begin knocking on the doorways. And for that, you want an ecosystem and that’s what we try to construct.
Nonetheless, even your music has its share of critics, who complain there’s a sameness about it…
That’s as a result of we try to carry hip hop into movie music, which is the one platform in Tamil Nadu, the place music is being heard. We will nonetheless make music for films like Thani Oruvan, however these days, once we make music for the movies during which I star in, we push in hip hop. We’re making music that’s to our tastes and nonetheless determine among the many prime 5 artistes in relation to streaming numbers. Doesn’t that suggest that many are liking this type of music? We’re large followers of the artistes we’re collaborating with proper now, so if lots of people are listening to our music, we’re positive they are going to hear to those musicians as properly.
Of late, you have got diminished the variety of movies you’re composing for. Is that this intentional? What’s your gameplan for the subsequent 10 years?
My subsequent film, Veeran, will likely be releasing this 12 months. After that, I’ve signed on two extra films. Amongst these three, I’m doing the music for 2. For the third movie, we haven’t finalised the composer but. To any extent further, if somebody involves narrate a script to me, I’ll take heed to it solely as an actor. They’ve full freedom to decide on whichever music director they wish to. So far as music is anxious, we’re going to concentrate on non-film music, and make this Underground Tribe (their hip hop collective) potential. We’re resuming the place we left off as Hiphop Tamizha, the indie musicians. We expect now we have reached a stage the place making music for movies isn’t a necessity anymore. We are going to nonetheless compose for movies, however the amount will likely be much less.
