The pandemic has altered and affected the lives of every individual in one way or another. However, in order to understand the extent of its impact on the music industry, especially the independent music industry, ITISARAS has taken an initiative to support the artists during these testing times. Vrnda Dhar, a representative of the organization interviewed
Vasundhara Vee who is a bankable name in the space of Western arts in our country. She is seen in the finest Soul, RnB and Jazz ensembles in the capacity of both Collaborator and Curator.
One might have witnessed her perform at most premier venues in India and on diverse stages in France, Turkey, Bulgaria, Malaysia, Dubai, Singapore collaborating with artists from across the globe.
She has performed live with Etienne Mbappe, Ranjit Barot, Dhruv Ghanekar, Louiz Banks, Loy Mendonsa, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Purbayan Chatterjee, Mohini Dey, Osam Ezzeldin, Sean Freeman, Marc Guillermont and also with mentors of the young independent circuit such as Pranai Gurung, Tarun Balani, Aditya Balani etc.
“People know you as a flesh and blood person.”
When asked to draw a parallel between the entire offline and online experience of music curation, Ms. Vasundhara replied that every individual in the music industry has had a very varied experience. Moreover, in the beginning she did not participate in any online gigs as according to her, it was not properly planned and was at a very nebulous stage. Therefore, she primarily focused on upgrading, steadying, recording and publishing some of her music.
She revealed that her online experience was not very different as the audience empathizes with her organically. Her audience pool is an amalgamation of some extremely authentic connections that she has formed throughout her life through extreme hard work and patience.
When asked about any changes she experienced while teaching online, she stated that her teaching-learning experience did not undergo a complete alteration- in fact she revealed that she has never met her teacher in person for the last 10 years and has been learning from him without any ordeals. Ms. Vasundhara gave an insightful perspective of how artists should keep their content authentic and create more of the same which resonate with people. She believes in “Humanizing the process,” as in the social media experience. She believes that only when people “Remove the veil and be fierce” in what they do, will the online platform cease to exist as a “dead space.”
With regard to influencers and how one can sell one’s intellectual property, Ms. Vasundhara provided a very insightful perspective which she has also mentioned in her book, Big Dreams, Bold Choices, that we should always understand the dynamics of influence- the breadth and depth of influence. One who does not have any solid connections and has only a breath of influence, when pitching a brand or commodity, people are apprehensive and doubtful. However, a person with not many followers on social media but with authentic connections will inevitably succeed in convincing their followers.
While looking at the economical aspect of how the music industry has been affected by the pandemic, Ms. Vasundhara states that the experience for musicians have been extremely varied and it all depends in part on one’s privilege. There are some musicians who haven’t felt a thing while there are some who faced starvation and tried to end their lives as they were too embarrassed to ask for help. However, initiatives like Artists for Artists undertaken by Prince Mulla which supports artists really makes one believe that this is not the end of humanity.
“Life is going to change- the music scene should be blazing”
Ms. Vasundhara has also provided some very useful guidelines and tips for budding musicians and how they can adapt to the current situation that we are in. In the financial sphere, one must take time to create a brand for themselves. She also stated that one should always diversify their interests and channelize them through music. Their love for music should not be one dimensional.
“We need to understand ourselves and allow music to filter through that synergy.”-
She quotes Elizabeth Gilbert by saying that one should look at their art and “say I am going to do everything to support you so that we go on for long.” This justifies every other activity since the promise to your art is lifelong.
To know more about the impact of the pandemic on the independent music industry, please watch Vrnda’s interview with Vasundhara Vee, here-
We, at Itisaras, believe that awareness and action are integral for change, and for the same we
have launched a petition on change.org that urges the Ministry of Culture to extend institutional support to the people of the Performance Arts sector. Please join us and sign the petition – http://chng.it/zhFTnGdPMm
Vrnda Dhar is currently pursuing Sociology Honours at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi. She's deeply passionate about the study of Social Anthropology and wishes to contribute to the realm of Conflict and Displacement studies in the future, with emphasis on Kashmir.
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