How tough you think the life of an artist is?
At GiGlue we follow design thinking and when you talk about design thinking the first thing that will come into your mind is empathy. While we are developing our product, we want it to have emotions as well. I and my colleague Abhigyan Singh went to take an interview of a developing band based out of Delhi Revolution21. We wanted to understand the core feelings and problems which are faced by a developing artist/band nowadays.
Let me introduce Revolution21, it’s a Delhi-based Hindi alternative rock band. It was formed in 2012 since then the whole band is making music together.
- Nikhil — lead vocalist & rhythm guitarist
- Shafi — lead guitarist & backing vocals
- Ayush — bassist
- Vinayak — drummer & backing vocals
I initiated the interview with my first question.
How much monthly income do you guys earn from your band?
Shafi — We don’t negotiate for money. My message to all event organizers is that treat us well, give us the best setup and crowd that’s enough for us we don’t expect good money. Revolution21 is struggling since 4 to 5 years. Our parents are worried about us but we really don’t know what is making us to bound to music like this. I work in a music store to earn my living as right now I am not able to earn much from my band.
We don’t target money we target for gigs — Shafi
Vinayak — In a week, we spend around 12 hours of our time to jam/practice and other time we try to find the links to earn money. The money problem is there with our band even when we have a good face value in the market.
What is the importance of the regular source of income in a life of an artist?
Vinayak — So, if you see our instrument setup it has cost us more than 2 lakhs but the event organizers don’t understand this point. If there will be a regular source of income, Revolution21 will be able to concentrate on music more rather than seeking out for money in the market.
What are main problems faced by an artist?
Vinayak — Lack of motivation from family, friends, and society. People don’t support local artists. There is a need of awareness among people.
Shafi — We agree, developing artists also make mistakes but there is no industry standard for paying an artist in the market right now. We as an artist need a standardized rating mechanism for live music payments.
Every developing band/artist is suffering from the same problems as Revolution21
- Lack of support & motivation
- Need of industry standards through rating mechanism
- Need of regular source of income
- Need of a virtual artist manager
GiGlue is trying to help and support a local artist by providing a platform to perform, brand, earn & connect with music lovers, event organizers & record labels. We are working as a virtual artist manager for every artist who is signed up with us. We understand this journey is tough but we are confident that these problems can be mitigated through our platform.
#SupportLocalArtist
GiGlue has taken an initiative to organize public events to increase the awareness about problems faced by local artists. Become a part of this initiative and #SupportLocalArtist.
