MUSIC FIGHTS BACK
Friday, 21st March, 2008
Some singers do not charge fees these days after completing a song in Bollywood. It is not out of a sense of philanthropy; but the knowledge that the real earnings are not from the one-off fee, instead, from the money spinning stage performances that are to follow, as music makes a strong comeback in the new Bollywood. Like a lost diamond, the Hindi movie song has been lying in a film of dust since the late nineties, its glitter fading every year. But it is beginning to shine again.
After a decline in sales that began 12 years ago, Indian music is beginning to look up with a return of good lyrics, great music, better promotion, renewed listener interest and bigger margins.
For the first time, the music industry is propping itself up again, supported by digital music rather. International movie and music companies are coming to Bollywood, and are set to bring with them a mirage that has eluded composers and writers for long: royalties.
But at the heart of it, there was no number crunching or marketing jugglery; it was pure craft. “Women call me about the song and weep on the phone,” said Prasoon Joshi, referring to his eloquent song Maa in Aamir Khan’s Taarey Zameen Par. The craft of the song is changing. A new set of young writers, composers and technicians is giving music a new sound, face and feel.
“I have not worked with a single director above 42 years. Most are in their 30s, even late 20s. Most technicians are young. Forty-five is the upper limit,” said Vishal Dadlani, of the composer duo Vishal-Shekhar, who did the music for Om Shanti Om.
“It is a shift of generation. The average age in the business will soon be 25. I think its fantastic-it accurately reflects the mindset of the future,” Dadlani said. “Even songwriting structures have entirely changed.”
The traditional mukhda –plus two-antaras structure (opening and two verses) of tile song is no longer sacrosanct. The influence of rap music brought in broken, jagged, often conversational verses. Sometimes the mukhda is done away with. And there is a fair amount of English on occasions.
This is an industry where most songs have long been composed the inverse way - the music directors created melodies, directors approved them, then they were given to lyric writers along with a brief of the story and song situation, and then the song was written to suit the metre and the context.
But that, too, is changing. Several music directors, including A.R. Rehman, Shankar-Ehsan-Loy, Vishal-Shekhar and Sandesh Shandilya often compose lyrics given to them. The young composers are also giving Bollywood a new beat.
“Melody has taken off its clothes, it wants to wear something new,” said Sajid Khan of the music duo of brothers Sajid and Wajed. “Bombay is glittering like gold. Its talent is being flashed all over the world.” Many of these people, including the lead singers, are much younger than the icons of the past generations.
“The younger brigade is led by Sonu (Nigam), Shaan, KK, Sunidhi (Chauhan), Shreya (Ghoshal),” said Dadlani. “I think it does give it certain vibrancy. They are open to experimentation and do new things all the time. People now come to you and say they want to work with new voices and lyricists.”.
All that is part of a huge arc of efforts that is reviving Bollywood music. The Indian music industry has been in a slump as the rest of the world: pirated music is believed to be one-third of the organised market. Also, with sales of cassettes and CDs going down - in 1994, a top selling album sold 3.8 million copies, but in 2006, it sold 2.6 million. Unlike in most other developed markets, music is dominated by films in India.
But things are looking up. The music industry, valued at Rs 1,000 crore in 2000, was estimated at Rs 650 crore in 2006. Digital music is going to prop it further, taking it to a projected Rs 750 crore in another two years, according to a study done for the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
“Many writers are trying to say something new, find a new language to write,” said lyricist Swanand Kirkire, whose first song Baawra Mann in the 2005 Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi still resonates with listeners. “For the first time, I see that a normal Indian is finding his voice. Money and recognition is better. People know who has written a song,” Kirkire said. But he added: “The new Bollywood is not flawless, it is not complete yet.”
Many of the flaws have to do with what lies at the heart of it all: in the world’s most watched movie industry. Where music fetches millions, composers and lyric writers do not get royalties due to them.
Some of that is changing already. International companies are stepping in with the promise of starting a royalties system in India. Vishal-Shekhar are producing albums by other artistes and will give royalties.
At a larger level, many say the movers and shakers in Bollywood do not understand or respect good writing. Joshi said: “Respect for writing, not for writers, is needed”.

