Reelification of the Indian music industry

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by Anna Munhin Nov 28, 2022 News
Reelification of the Indian music industry

Chances are that you won't be able to remember the entire song's lyrics if you've been introduced to it through social media. Aise Kyun was one of the songs that rose to popularity because of the social media platform. You can break into its hook step on the drop of a hat and hum the catchiest part of the song, but not the whole song. It might be a blur, but the impact on the music industry is due to the use of Instagram reels.

You used to hear a new song on a loop on your streaming platform until you were sick of it, but that is no longer the case. We barely remember a line of a song but it would stay in our head for a long time after we scrolled through the reels. Music composers are finding it easier to write short songs. Efforts are being made to make the hook linereel-worthy.

The TikTokification took place a year ago in the west. Bollywood is catching up with the trend as the attention span gets shorter. Songs are snackier and catchier. More songs have a good beat that can be used to start a trend on social media or even become an earworm.

The success of a song is not only measured by the number of listens or views on Spotify or YouTube, it is also measured by the number of reels that it generates on Instagram. 

Reelification – Impact of Instagram Reels on Music

There are elements that may increase the possibility of making the music trend. The focus is on creating at least one hook or element that is very attractive in the song which they know will work well. At least 30 seconds of the song should be nice. According to Harikrishnan Pillai, CEO and co-founder of The SmallBigIdea, Ear worming a song will make musicians sorted.

He thinks Srivali traveled more because of its hook step than the song.

GenZ R&B Artist and Digital Content Creator, Dev Raiyani admits that he creates music by keeping his social media accounts in mind, but says that the end result matters more.

I think about popularity while making music, but then I think about my inspiration and they don't care about that. I'm just doing my job. Raiyani said that with music, it is best not to judge, any music can sound amazing and who cares about the motives behind it.

Advertisers and marketers go to certain places. Composers and creators are keeping a close eye on what their consumers are saying on social media.

The market decides what works and what doesn't according to Aksh Baghla. Demand and supply are similar. The market wants tunes to dance and vibe on. Any other industry is the same. The songs are made according to the new culture.

As a result, the consumption of music has changed and it is now an artist discovery platform.

Also Read: Mid-funnel intent is the USP of Audio OTT advertising: Arjun Kolady, Spotify

Democratising creation & crossing borders: The good side

The agency was working on a marketing strategy for a Bollywood movie when they decided to use a digital creator.

The hook step from the movie, which we got as part of the song, is called "Jalaya Toh Nahin Na". We thought of working with an internet creator instead of a music director.

This has provided creators with a chance to be discovered in an industry that has been known for its cronyism.

Yohani's song, Manike Mage Hithe, was seen in India thanks to the use of the social media platform. It tugged at our hearts because we didn't know what it was. So did Pasoori from the Coke studio in Pakistan.

Yohani was hired by Indian producers for a Bollywood movie after watching Manike. Manike has seen more than one million reels.

The right Reel marketing strategy and social media give every artist a chance to be discovered and reach millions of people. Independent artists can build their audiences with the democratizing nature of it.

You would find a lot of similarities between the two if you looked at the popular songs section on IG and compared them to the Top 10 Charts.

It's possible to revive old songs on the social media site. The title song of Kalank became popular on social media. The most popular part has generated 182K reels.

Kitsch art: The Bad Side

The quality and narrative of the artist's work may be put on the back burner if they want to go viral on social media. The music industry and creators careers are affected by this. Quality and authenticity are overtaken by numbers.

The popular song Raangi Saari only has five lines in it's 3-minute long song.

The Table Guy said, "Instagram has led to a massive decrease in attention span which again affects consumption patterns across all audiences in India." The average length of a song used to be about 4-5 minutes, but now it's less than 2 minutes. The creativity factor has gone down because of that reduction.

He sees both positive and negative sides to the changes in consumption patterns.

One of the downsides could be the fueling of fast-content consumption behavior that doesn't have enough depth of meaningful information. Since platforms tend to serve content that users naturally like, there is a chance for users to get hooked on a never ending stream of content.

The social media addiction created due to the sharing of more information has been pointed out many times.

While the good part of reelification is that music trends are getting more popular, he also pointed out the bad and ugly sides of it.

People are following the reels trend left-right without thinking about it. The trend is going to be cluttered in the next six to one year.

Mental health of musicians and composers can suffer if a song doesn't sell on social media. Quality has been taken aback by the increased competition. Artists around the world are speaking out against the pressures of putting more time and effort into marketing than the original content. Halsley has been judged by their social media presence and follower count.

Talked to my label tonight after my tiktok tantrum. They said “wow the tiktok is going really strong!” I was like ok cool so can I release my song now? They said “we’ll see!” 🙃 tell me again how I’m making this up.

— h (@halsey) May 23, 2022

Manufactured Virality: The Ugly Side

Music composers are being pushed to adapt to a marketing model that is attractive to social media users. It's not possible to choose what you want to see on the photo sharing site.

They have been blamed for manufacturing viral campaigns. The Kid Laroi had a feud with his former manager Scooter Braun in order to promote his new song.

The SmallBigIdea reminds us to use marketing in the right way.

I don't believe that Indians are behind in marketing. Everyone has a gig here and there. The audience is very smart. You can't make a fool of a gig because the audience understands it. Staying honest and creating great content is the best thing to do with the audience.

The Future

There is an impact on the music industry. Shorter songs and catchier tunes will be seen in the future.

There will be more variety inBollywood music. Short and snackable songs will be made for reels. They will keep on producing good music, but it will be easier for them to get noticed on Insta because of the popularity of their music.

While user attention for most content might be limited, the very best of content always tends to keep audiences engaged and come back for more. Bollywood music is one form of content that would be covered by this. If the music appeals to its intended audience, the popularity of that music will increase. Meeting the tastes of genre audiences is the future of most music.

The creator is excited about the community that has been created on the photo sharing site.

We are in an age where creators and musicians are coming together in such an amazing way.

TheReelification of the music industry shows howInstagram controls the music that the current generation listens to. The future of the music industry will most likely be set by the photo sharing site.