EXCLUSIVE: “There is a genre of music for every emotion,” says musician Anand Bhaskar on World Music Day

Music is to the ears what colours are to the eyes. There is music for every emotion. There is music everywhere, the pitter-patter of the raindrops on the window, the sound of wind rustling through the leaves, the chirping of birds, everything is music. Music differentiates the ones who are merely surviving from people who are really living life. 21st June is the day we celebrate music throughout the world. In an exclusive interaction with Business Upturn, Mr Anand Bhaskar popular musician of the country expresses his love for music and shares his opinions on recent events.

Talking about the need to have a special day to celebrate music, Anand said, “Music plays an important role in every aspect of our lives. You can bond over music and have a song to personally celebrate the bond. Music unites us and makes our bond stronger. Music in itself is so therapeutic. There is a genre of music for every emotion and you will always find a person who shares those musical interests with you. Without music, the world would be dull and colourless.”

Advertisement

Singer Sonu Nigam’s recent video claiming the music industry being controlled by two ‘mafias’ is trending online.

However, in Anand’s opinion, this accusation is unfair. He said, “I am not sure if you can call it a ‘mafia’ because what a mafia does is, they prevent others from entering their territory. Mafia forces other people not to do what they are doing. I don’t think this is happening in the music industry. Indeed, there are powerful record labels. These labels hesitate in launching new talents; they put their faith in artists that are already established. The purpose of a record label is to identify new talent but it would be unfair to equate it with ‘mafia’ because nobody is stopping independent artists.”

He even stated the example of Gajendra Verma whose song ‘Tera Ghata’ has more than 356 million views and it does not belong to any record label.

“If a record label doesn’t show any interest, it doesn’t stop you from releasing independent music. The music industry is not mafia controlled rather it is business controlled. As long as the existing talents are bringing them fame and money, they don’t have any motivation to promote new talents. This does not make them a ‘mafia’. New artists need to take the risk of launching themselves independently because record labels do not guarantee success,” he added.

Anand is the music director of popular Indian web series, Mirzapur. “John Stewart Eduri is the composer of theme and background score of the show and I am the composer for all the songs featured in the series. There are 6 songs of different styles and genres in the entire series. I have collaborated with 5 upcoming artists and one of the songs is sung by me,” said Anand prompting what to expect in the second season of the show from a musical point of view.

“They all seem to be strong songs, at least that is what my directors are telling me. I sincerely hope viewers notice and appreciate our songs in the series,” he added.

On being questioned about how the lockdown has affected the musicians Mr Bhaskar said, “Live performers are severely affected in this scenario and online live performances don’t pay as much. Studio performers are still getting work, provided that they have a studio at their homes. If you are a live and studio performer with a studio at home you are not as severely affected as others.”

He is hopeful that the demand for live music will increase as everyone is now “bored” of sitting at home.

His advice to all the live performers struggling today is, “use this time to set up a recording system at home. Come up with original music. Savings and investments are really important. Managing money is important. Learn a new skill. If you play bass or saxophone or anything else, learn to play different instruments. Compose your music. Don’t rely on a single skill for income.”

Throwing light on his upcoming ventures Anand said, “I am working on the third album of my band Anand Bhaskar Collective. The first single from our third album called ‘Main Hoon Zameen’ was released on 31st March. I am also working on my solo album. I recently finished my first single for it. Other than this, I am working on various songs to pitch for film projects and other web series. I am making tonnes of new music.”