Indie Ingenuity: How DIY music creators thrive beyond record labels

When a musichead ventures beyond the confines of Bollywood an everexpanding pool of lsquoindiersquo music comes into focus While there is ample haze around who an lsquoindiersquo artist is some of the homegrown musicians who ring a bell on the craft include Anuv Jain The Local Train Prateek Kuhad Aditi Dot Kayan and moreTo expand further indie is someone who adopts the doityourselfrsquo philosophy over working with major labels like Zee Music Company Sony Music India Saregama Tips and the like Yet this description is limiting and fails to capture the essence of an indie musicianMirroring the zeitgeist open to introspection and an everevolving craftsman indie also carves her own niche Blurring the lines between genres relying on gut instinct and drawing inspiration from banal surroundings the artist has no reverence for boundaries really dares to change the rules and is rumored to give a tough fight to the traditional stronghold of major record labelsDeparting from conventional music releasesWith the surge of online music streaming platforms indies have begun to assert lordship over their craft by embracing a more direct and immediate approach to sharing their work Bypassing the traditional gatekeepers of the music industry indie musicians enjoy unparalleled freedom to release their music independentlyOne of those platforms ndash Spotify ranked as the top music streaming platform in India as per a report by Redseer Strategy Consultants has emerged as one of the primary sources for indie musicians to get discovered online skipping the protocols set by corporate labels and music giants We spoke to two Indian indies who regale us in their journeys of getting discovered onlineDotBetween January 2023 and January 2024 YoY Dot has seen her listenership increase by over 250x on Spotify PicInstagramIn a conversation with this writer the Archies actor and an indie musician Aditi Saigal aka Dot tells us why having her music featured on Spotify playlists has broadened her horizons ldquoBeing on lsquoRadarrsquo playlists has been a huge boost for my music as thats where most people discover my music nowadays She is referring to one of Spotifys programs that helps emerging musicians and podcasters to reach a wider audience through its tailored algorithmTalking about the noon she recorded at Spotify London studio she tells us ldquoThey have this writers room in Metropolis Studios where we actually ended up writing lsquoGirls Nightrsquo I and the guys at Playbook spent about 67 hours there and it was quite mindblowing because we took a sneaky look at the recording schedule and some of my favourite artists had slots right after us It felt like we were a part of something big you knowFew weeks later Girls Night ended up getting playlisted globally by Spotify and even made the cover of the lsquoBorderlessrsquo Spotify playlistSari swag and sonic rebels What women in Indian hiphop owe to rap musicAkshathAkshaths listenership jumped by over 700 percent since being featured on Radar playlist in India PicInstagramHis melodies feel like a hug from within The Bombaybased artist and producer Akshath Acharya has emerged as a genredefying indie musician whose body of work lulls you with a fusion of indie and pop Speaking to this writer he opens up about his inspiration ldquoIve always been drawn to the emotional depth and storytelling aspect of indie music while the infectious melodies and modern production style also resonated on the applicationlevelrdquoHe recalls how he was offered a couple of label deals postcollege however he dived into online streaming straight in Techsavvy that is where he discovered firsthand how fans responded to his musicHe explains ldquoSpotifys artist tools and analytics provided valuable insights into my audience demographics listening habits and geographic distribution allowing me to tailor marketing efforts gigs and shows and fan engagements more effectivelyrdquoBy analysing metrics such as listener demographics play counts skip rates and playlist placements Akshath gained insights into songs that struck his audience and whyAlso Read How Indian indie musicians are trying to connect with fans through unique merchandiseBoth Dot Akshath swears by lsquoRadar ldquoIt was a landmark moment for me when the lsquoRadar Campaignrsquo was taken global and my name and face were on FC Barcelonarsquos Camp Nou stadium It made me believe that my art means something and that Irsquom here to stayrdquo he addedNurturing indie talent via toolsDhruvank Vaidya ndash Head of music and podcasts at Spotify IndiaLiterally speaking ldquoindierdquo is quite simply the abbreviation of the word ldquoindependentrdquo and represents the creator community Dhruvank Vaidya ndash Head of music and podcasts at Spotify India outlines that Spotify has always been focused on the creator community and artists are a huge part of that He uncovers the digital tools designed to support the indie music community of IndiaFresh Finds In 2021 Spotify launched Fresh Finds an initiative for developing independent artists and in 2023 alone Fresh Finds supported over 700 artists in India The leading playlist in the category Indie India added over 500000 followers in the last two years making it one of the fastestgrowing playlists in the country on the platformSpotify For Artists This platform allows artists to access indepth data about their audience markets music performance discoverability and more It continues to host masterclasses to educate artists on how they can make the most of Spotify to grow their music and fan base ldquoToday over 28000 artists in India use Spotify which is nearly twice the figure from last yearrdquo informs VaidyaRadar Spotifyrsquos global emergingartists program RADAR launched in India close to four years ago which gives upandcoming independent artists a stronger local and global audience through the platform Since its launch the team has engaged over 40 emerging artists locally providing them with playlist curation and marketing supportKeeping up with the evolving trendsldquoWhile film music continues to be big in India across languages we are now seeing an emergence of artistfirst popular musicrdquo remarks Vaidya There is rapid growth in music languages such as Hindi Punjabi Kannada and Haryanvi among others The widespread availability of digital streaming platforms and tools has made it easier for artists to create and distribute their music without the constraints imposed by major record labelsSeveral artists now release their songs audiofirst and often donrsquot create music videos This has eased the pressure on musicians to compete on both aural and visual levels thereby leveraging their talent to reach a wider audience and gain recognitionVaidya highlights that there has also been a shift in the perception of independent music in India with more acceptance and recognition from mainstream media and the industry This has encouraged an increasing number of indie artists to pursue their passion for music independently and explore creative avenuesAlso Read American DJ KSHMR teams up with King and Zaeden to release new track lsquoAawararsquo