T here’s something amiss in the Kollywood music industry, as music directors struggle to keep up with the pulse of the listeners. Audio companies too suggest the same as they cut down on new acquisitions. The audio rights market has crashed, with big hero films, even when paired with hit composers, are being bought for Rs.1 crore and below. At the same time, smaller movies have begun to sell their rights for a price well below Rs.10 lakh. The audio rights of a few films are being picked up for free by audio companies on distribution basis for their digital rights. There have even been cases this year where films released even without selling their audio rights!
2016 has been a year of change for Tamil film music. The number of songs in commercial films has come down, and a new music director is born every day, while veterans struggle to survive. Some big names in the music industry have slashed their salaries and have made changes to their contracts with producers.
Today, music is just a promotional tool for the first look, teaser and FM stations. The actual sale of film albums in stores is obsolete, as audio companies limit their output to 100 to 500 CDs for the producer’s promotional activities. As more and more people choose to buy music online, opting to stream music over downloading, as the data rates have fallen and an in internet speed.
A big music director, who is now leading a semi-retired life, confesses, “I’m no longer in the rat race and I’m happy and content. I lived in a world where a film had five or six songs written by one lyricist and tuned by one composer. The songs of today have no melody; lyrics are in Tanglish and multiple composers and lyricists work on creating one album.”
The year is more about the single tracks. A spokesperson of a top audio company says, “2016 has been the year of the singles; every day, in the morning, evening or midnight, somebody or the other is releasing a single. There are more than 200 Tamil film releases in a year, plus many non-film singles hitting the market, creating a clutter. I have not heard a single catchy number – like ‘Why this Kolaveri’ – this year . Composing music for today’s audience has come down to creating a chartbuster and letting it carry the film. The hunt then is not for five great songs in an album, but a catchy hook and a foot-tapping party, love failure or koothu number.”
With albums giving way to singles, Kollywood is waking up to a new music marketing device. Creating a lot of hype around each song leading up to the full album’s release has become a good way of making it a success.
The younger lot of music directors, like Anirudh, who has a very strong social media presence, specialises in singles to popularise the film and its music.
Ajith’s Vedalam song composed by Anirudh, ‘Aaluma Doluma’, became the most viewed song on YouTube. But do you remember any other number from that album? Similarly, the way A.R. Rahman and Gautham Menon promoted Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada’ s ‘Thalli Pogathey’ (which was launched as a single months before the film’s release)and it helped the film stay in people’s minds.
In the digital world, the song and its picturisation matters a lot. Says a Mumbai-based music taster (samples music and its potential for audio companies), “Kollywood, like Bollywood, should use audio as a tool to push their films and bring audiences to theatres for the opening weekend. The composers should come out, like Anirudh, Imman, and, to a certain extent, ARR, to promote their music. Look at the way Karan Johar promoted the music of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil , along with its stars, or how the song ‘Kala Chashma’ ( Baar Baar Dekho ) was promoted by its lead actors, and how Sonam Kapoor dubsmashed for the Prem Ratan Dhan Payo title song. Tamil actors should promote their songs by creating a theme or concept woven around it.”
The buzz is that Sony Music has requested Nayantara to promote the music of her next female-oriented Dora , as single tracks.
Meanwhile, the Kollywood audio market has crashed, with major companies like Sony Music and Think Music going slow on new acquisitions. They say that the producers do not understand market reality and are asking for prices which cannot be recovered. The producers say music companies are making money from digital platforms like YouTube, RBT, and streaming.
But music companies say YouTube pays very little and points out that for 1 million views, payment is a paltry Rs.60,000. And in South India, unlike in North India, television broadcasters don’t pay money for using their content.
Now, the latest we hear is that Sun TV is all set to start their own audio company. The market leader in television satellite rights is now saying that they will buy all rights (television, digital, audio and all other platforms) for a film in the future. It will enable them to strengthen their hold over the market, and also avoid legal issues regarding rights.
KPMG, in its 2015 report based on the Indian music business, said that the recorded music business will nearly double over the next five years. Let the music play.
