Scouting talent from the internet

Justin Bieber was discovered on social media in 2007 after he uploaded home videos online. Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) is another star who’s a digital platform discovery. Closer home, Jonita Gandhi and Pyjama Popstar Shirley Setia have been among the biggest success stories, who made inroads into the music industry through the virtual world. The newest entrant is Lisa Mishra, who created quite an impression on Veere Di Wedding actress Sonam K Ahuja and her producer sister Rhea Kapoor with her mash-up of the film’s song Tareefan and Let Me Love You by DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber. So much so that they had the Chicago-based data analyst flown down to Mumbai to record a reprised version of the composition.

Videsi as well as desi talent

While the internet has brought down to India talent from Canada (Jonita), New Zealand (Shirley) or US (Lisa), of late, music composers have been requesting netizens to help trace singers from humbler backgrounds, with no concerted aspirations for a career in entertainment biz, for collaborations. First, it was Pritam who invited a Sikkimese street singer and sarangi player Santosh Gandarba from Rangpo to record a track.

The Jagga Jasoos composer also wants the musician to move to the city and train in music. Around the same time, Shankar Mahadevan tweeted an appeal to trace a rubber plantation labourer, Rakesh Unni, whose rendition of Unnai Kaanadhu Naan (Vishwaroopam) tugged at the composer’s heart. The Kerala resident also had the opportunity to croon before Kamal Haasan, who starred in the film. The latest to join the bandwagon is Vishal Dadlani, who has urged social media to find a singing saadhu from Rajasthan. One half of Vishal-Shekhar tweeted, “Love to write, record and produce music...Please locate him for me? (Sic)”.

All about singing

The performers who are being pursued by composers aren’t people one would associate with glamour. Tareefan’s composer, Qaran, says, “The human voice is a transparent medium and can speak volumes about a singer’s life experiences and influences. These combined with their vocal quality and how it can translate and be effectively applied in the context of a record is the key to identifying talent.” Lisa adds that it’s all about the content now and not about how well-produced a music video looks. “We have replaced how good the visuals are with the music,” she observes, “If you sound good, that’s your demo for a composer to notice you.”

A new form of audition

Uploading work on social media is a new way of looking at music, feels Lisa. “The internet now serves as your audition. That becomes a way for the composer or the film’s producer to find you,” she says. It also means a new name getting noticed. “I don’t think Tareefan would have become this  big had Rhea and Sonam not been involved. Because of them, it was marketed well,” she explains. Sutej Singh — a rock artiste from Solan, Himachal Pradesh — says it’s a great way to promote music. “Almost every musician on my album The Emerging was found through social media. We post every upcoming event on it. That’s where we advertise. And it all comes for free. I can’t imagine promoting my work without social media, really,” he states.

A big boost

Apart from music directors scouting performers, the net has helped Sutej gain popularity. When he released his album, it was given a shoutout by none other than Katrina Kaif, who posted about his music on her Instagram story. Sutej recalls, “That was something I never expected. I remember having hundreds of notifications on my phone — phone calls, messages and everything possible.” Lisa, too, expected her recording with team VDW to translate into something but “not nearly to this extent,” like she says.

Opens avenues for artistes and composers

Undoubtedly, being discovered and given a break by established names in the industry can change fortunes, especially for those who do not have a backing here. However, artistes say that just an endorsement from biggies helps. Like Jonita, whose cover of Silent Night by Hayley Westenra was retweeted by AR Rahman himself before she became popular, avers, “At the time I was still Canada-based and just testing the waters to see if I could make singing my full-time career here. On a personal front, it gave me motivation and validation that I should keep going with my pursuit.” From the musical standpoint, Qaran and rapper Badshah (who rendered Tareefan) appreciating the song was also a substantiation of sorts for Lisa. It also helps increase the fan base. She states, “The number of followers I have is growing. Whatever I put out now, the right eyes will be on it. It’s taken a life of its own, in a way that I would not have had access to before.” In Sutej’s case, he says that it not only widened his fan or listener base but, “a lot of people discovered a new genre of music, that is, Progressive Metal through Katrina’s Instagram story.”

Not just budding talent, Qaran opines that it’s a great way to discover and even hone raw talent like musicians from the streets. “The development of an artiste from the ground up is something that used to be prevalent in previous decades, especially overseas. This paved the way for a plethora of incredible artistes with music that truly reflects them with a great deal of authenticity,” he emphasises. He makes it a priority to keep his ear to the street and identify fresh talent. “You will see a lot of new talent featured on my records in the near future,” he says.