Advertisement
Indian musicians are having a tough time navigating through the changes that have come about in the music industry in the last two decades.
Cassette and CD sales are a thing of the past. There are very few music companies to choose from. There are hardly any media platforms exclusively catering to music artists and the promotion of the art. In fact, some music companies are said to be demanding money from musicians to promote their songs.
How can singers, music composers and music video makers survive in a difficult situation like this?
“The best way for musicians to make a mark and grow in a difficult situation, is to promote, promote and promote,” says Bollywood’s only PR guru Dale Bhagwagar who had handled the Music PR for many brands.
Dale knows what he is talking about. He has handled the PR for some of the best names in the music industry. “We are living in a world where perception is reality. And if musicians can’t build a brand, they may not be able to survive long in the competition, however good their music is,” says Dale.
“But by promoting their work and building a brand, they are not only able to sell their music and negotiate better with companies, but also get famous, which might attract appearances, shows and stage performances. Plus, their brand stays on Google forever and adds to their glory and posterity. So branding is totally a win-win solution,” adds the publicity expert.
True that! However, many artists wait to strike deals with companies and earn some money before they focus on PR. “Exactly, many wait, and some wait way too long. It’s a catch-22 situation. If you do PR, your positioning rises and you can expect better deals. But if you wait for deals to happen and don’t do PR activity, you simply keep waiting for some magic to happen someday. Most artists are waiting and then waiting a little more. They don’t take their branding in their own hands. And the few who do it with consistency, often rise exponentially. Hundreds of others are left out, showing off their music products on Instagram to a limited audience.”
The media maverick explains further, “Think about it this way. When you go to a supermarket, you find many brand names of the same commodity. But you mostly choose the one that is famous, trustworthy and known. Similarly, when there are so many singers, composers and independent music producers, think which ones are the music companies going to pick. And there… you have got your answer.”
Who is Dale Bhagwagar?
Dale Bhagwagar is the founder of India’s longest-running and most popular entertainment PR agency Dale Bhagwagar Media Group headquartered in Mumbai.
The publicist has handled the PR for around 300 personalities including Bollywood actors Hrithik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty, and Priyanka Chopra, some 40 music artists including top genre names Daler Mehndi (Bhangra), Anup Jalota (Bhajan), Pankaj Udhas (Ghazal), Rahul Sharma (Santoor), and some 30 movies such as the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Don, Farhan Akhtar-starrer Rock On, and post-release PR for the Hrithik Roshan-starrer Koi… Mil Gaya.
A market leader in celebrity PR, Dale also runs bollywoodpr.in, the premier authoritative PR website of the Indian entertainment industry.