Kannada film songs are climbing the popularity charts, but the audio industry is reeling under losses. Prabhudev M examines the disconnect
Kannada film songs are climbing the popularity charts, but the audio industry is reeling under losses. Prabhudev M examines the disconnectSongs from Taj Mahal, Navagraha, Vamshi, and Slum Bala climbed the charts and stayed there. The trend, which began last year, continues to grow and thrive. Songs from Junglee and Birugaali are currently doing well.
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Gurukiran, who made music for the film Jogi, which rocked the audio market and shattered records in the Kannada audio industry, says, "The quality of Kannada film music has improved by leaps and bounds. The young crop of music directors is doing a great job. There are many FM channels and almost all of them play Kannada songs. This has immensely helped in extending the reach of the songs. At the same time they too are doing good business because of our songs. Initially, these channels would restrict themselves to English and Hindi songs. But things worked for them only after airing Kannada songs. The tremendous response by the audience shows that the quality has definitely improved. If our songs lacked quality the FM channels wouldn't have bothered to air them."
Ashwini Ramprasad, producer and proprieter of Ashwini recording company, too agrees that Kannada film music has improved. "Music forms a very vital part of a movie. Producers would never lay much emphasis on good music before. But things have changed considerably and producers nowadays give more weightage to music."
While some feel that the FM channels and the mobile phone have saved the audio industry as mobile entertainment is booming and growing at a rapid pace, some others do not completely agree with this line of thought.
Grim realityVelu, director of Lahari Recording Company, says, "These mediums have helped Kannada songs gain popularity, but we don't get much revenue from these sources. Music sells only when the film is a hit. If the movie fails to click, the music doesn't do well either. As you all know only 7 or 8 movies out of around 120 films released last year did well in the box office. So just imagine the state of the audio industry."
Ashwini Ramprasad says the revenue generated from the mobile phone industry is a pittance. "We can't make profits out of selling rights to FM channels and mobile service providers. We can reap profit only if the sales of audio CDs and cassettes are good. And this again is related to the movie's performance at the box office."
Tackle piracyThe major issue that continues to plague the audio industry is piracy. Piracy has emerged as a grave threat to the audio world now. Anyone who is computer savvy can easily make copies of popular songs into CDs for just Rs 8 or Rs 9. Pirated combined CDs, have selections of the rocking hits of the time, and with just Rs 20 or Rs 30, you can buy up to 150 songs of the season.
"Piracy is killing the industry. Conducting raids once in a blue moon is of no use. The audio industry can come out of the gloom only when piracy is checked," says Gurukiran.u00a0
