“I really cried listening to it”, “My friend Mr djoe said, after listening to your song, verrrry carefully ‘you’re a good thoughtful bloke, son’”, “you are now being heard at martiniqu’e (caribbean islands) :)”. Just some of the many hundreds of messages posted in response to “India, I Cry”.
“I just love the fact that it is so personal, so up-close. We always ought to think out of the box,” says Remo. In this exclusive interview for the community media platform, Village Tinto, he talks about what ails the existing music industry and the exciting possibilities new media holds.
* What was your intent in releasing “India, I Cry” exclusively on FB? What has been the response?
Remo: Of late I've been pretty disappointed with the mainstream music industry – record companies as well as music TV channels. They have almost no interest in anything which isn't Bollywood. I needed a medium to make and diffuse the music which I wanted to make, for it to reach out to the people who are interested in something a bit different from what's happening in our mainstream media, and I found Facebook (which I just joined this June) to be the perfect vehicle for it. Besides, I just love the fact that it is so personal, so up-close – something which no TV channel can ever provide.
I've made so many new friends on FB, have found long-lost ones too, it feels like one huge global family! I'm totally and unashamedly addicted to Facebook.
The response? Anyone can join my FB account and check it out – its been tremendous, fulfilling, satisfying for the mind, heart and soul.
* As a musician, would you say there’s something wrong about the current publishing and distribution system? If so, what?
Remo: Besides what I've already listed above, there's also the fact that practically all record companies cheat artists by artificially deflating sales figures and holding back on royalty payments. Also, they want you to sign off all your rights to them, for the world and for future territories which might be discovered (are they talking about outer space here?), and for eternity, so that you're left with nothing to pass on to your own children at the end of the day. Hey, we're musicians, we build songs, not financial or industrial empires! So if we cannot even bequeath our songs to our children, what's the use? Why should we sign our souls to these blood-suckers? They remind me of the Devil in the film "Bedazzled".
Besides, record companies are made up of businesspeople who don't know much about music at all, and I'm tired of having musically challenged people sit in judgment of, and take decisions concerning, my music.
Music TV channels play and promote videos from people who advertise most – and who can afford to advertise and attract the masses more than Bollywood? MTV and Channel [V] played "Muchacha Latina" on very low rotation, for less than a week, and took it off air. If you don't do an advertising promotion and pay a few lakhs, your video is just not aired often enough – even though they will never, ever accept this fact. You should see the reactions "Muchacha Latina" is now getting on Facebook from people from all over the world, not only India.
Abroad, there is highly commercial music – but there is also a sizeable niche in TV, Radio and record companies for alternate music, be it classical, jazz, folk, world, etc. But our whole country centers and revolves around Bollywood. We scream and shout about our culture; but do we have even one radio or TV channel exclusively dedicated to Indian classical or folk music, our architecture, our traditions? Foreign channels such as BBC and Discovery make better, more meaningful programs about India, than Indian channels do!
I do sing Bollywood songs myself, and I'm the first one to admit that I owe Bollywood a great chunk of my fame and fortune. Bollywood can be truly great – but I myself keep saying that there's more to life than Bollywood. Let us not ignore it and suffocate it.
The Net has given me the freedom to express that side of me once again – like Indian record companies such as CBS and Magnasound did in the past, when they released and heavily promoted my albums such as "Bombay City", "Pack that Smack", "Politicians don't know how to rock'n'roll", etc. Today's record companies are clueless; they actually don't believe there is a market for music with a message.
* Do you think new media channels, like FB or your own website, can be effective channels for musicians?
Remo: It depends on what the musicians are looking for, what they've got to offer, and a whole lot of things. These mediums have worked out perfectly for me.
* What about financial aspects in new media distribution? Can a musician make as much money if he/she were to bypass the traditional channels?
Remo: I have no idea – I have not even tried to sell this song online, even though I could have. I think most people would have gladly paid for downloading "India, I Cry". But I'm not in it for the money anymore. In fact I'm going to be giving away all my previous albums for free download on my website soon.
I have not amassed loads of money – but I'm blessed with the knowledge of how much is 'enough', I guess. Very often, not even the richest people in the world know how much is enough. We always want more… and more… and more… like drug addicts who yearn for the next fix, like alcoholics who crave the next drink… look at our politicians! Even their bloated Swiss bank accounts, where they have stashed away enough for the next 10 generations to live in untold luxury without working, don't suffice them. It is such people, who always need to have more, who are the truly poor and pitiable people of this earth.
If I have the odd live concert to bring in my bread and butter, I'm happy. No amount of 'sales figures' can ever replace the priceless sentiments expressed by the people on Facebook.
* What would you advise new/upcoming artists vis-a-vis new media strategies?
Remo: I'd say each one has to take serious stock of what they want to do, and choose their medium and 'media strategies' accordingly. There is no common hard and fast rule for everyone, there has never been. We always ought to think out of the box.
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