Greetings from Sraavyam!

sraavyam · Post by **sraavyam** » 02 May 2014, 14:22

Hello All,

Greetings from Sraavyam!

Please visit http://www.sraavyam.com, A new initiative by V. Sanjeev, Sikkil C. Gurucharan and Patri Satishkumar

Facebooklink : http://www.facebook.com/sraavyam

Sraavyam in Sanskrit means melody. It is perhaps this aspect that enables music to transcend boundaries of any kind and bring together the performer and the listener. Indian music, be it vocal or instrumental, is largely characterized by melody, the facet that has a magical prowess to make one lose sense of the self.

Concerts provide you the opportunity to feel this experience of being one with the music. The stage is where a melodious harmony of thoughts and emotions is presented through musical expression. It is where different musicians collaborate to create a symphony that is spontaneous, complex, unified and at the same time, reflective of each artist’s individuality and style.

Sraavyam is an attempt to recognise and appreciate the synergy among Indian musicians and honour the pain-staking effort that goes into each of their musical creations. Founded by V Sanjeev, Sikkil Gurucharan and Patri Satish Kumar, Sraavyam brings you an exclusive collection of Indian music performances – including but not limited to concerts, public and private performances - while maintaining the integrity of the recording by conforming to legal and regulatory precincts as applicable.

We encourage you to buy from http://www.sraavyam.com and join us as we endeavour to bring musicians and listeners closer to each other through music that takes precedence over all else.

Sit back, relax and enjoy from wherever you are.

Team Sraavyam

sraavyam · Post by **sraavyam** » 02 May 2014, 15:05

Hello All,

Greetings from Sraavyam!

Please visit http://www.sraavyam.com, A new initiative by V. Sanjeev, Sikkil C. Gurucharan and Patri Satishkumar

Facebooklink : http://www.facebook.com/sraavyam

Sraavyam in Sanskrit means melody. It is perhaps this aspect that enables music to transcend boundaries of any kind and bring together the performer and the listener. Indian music, be it vocal or instrumental, is largely characterized by melody, the facet that has a magical prowess to make one lose sense of the self.

Concerts provide you the opportunity to feel this experience of being one with the music. The stage is where a melodious harmony of thoughts and emotions is presented through musical expression. It is where different musicians collaborate to create a symphony that is spontaneous, complex, unified and at the same time, reflective of each artist’s individuality and style.

Sraavyam is an attempt to recognise and appreciate the synergy among Indian musicians and honour the pain-staking effort that goes into each of their musical creations. Founded by V Sanjeev, Sikkil Gurucharan and Patri Satish Kumar, Sraavyam brings you an exclusive collection of Indian music performances – including but not limited to concerts, public and private performances - while maintaining the integrity of the recording by conforming to legal and regulatory precincts as applicable.

We encourage you to download from http://www.sraavyam.com and join us as we endeavour to bring musicians and listeners closer to each other through music that takes precedence over all else.

Sit back, relax and enjoy from wherever you are.

Team Sraavyam

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 02 May 2014, 16:44

Dear Members

Sraavyam is a fantastic idea to promote Live Concert Music download being organised by well-meaning dignified musicians of high repute. The idea to share the proceeds among the artistes under a well-knit transparent payment system is a fantastic idea.

I wish team sraavyam all the very best and request artistes to become a part of this live music sharing platform on a large scale.

Mannarkoil J balaji

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 02 May 2014, 18:49

Good thinking Sraavyam. I wish the team sraavyam includes representative artists from all South Indian Languages and North India to expand the access MHO.

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 02 May 2014, 18:51

Admin - Please delete this duplicate post.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 02 May 2014, 20:15

Sraavyam is an attempt to recognise and appreciate the synergy among Indian musicians and honour the pain-staking effort that goes into each of their musical creations. Founded by V Sanjeev, Sikkil Gurucharan and Patri Satish Kumar, Sraavyam brings you an exclusive collection of Indian music performances – including but not limited to concerts, public and private performances - while maintaining the integrity of the recording by conforming to legal and regulatory precincts as applicable.

It's another way to sell recordings, right?

Not that I object to that in any way, and I wish you success, but let's call a spade a spade.

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 02 May 2014, 20:44

nick if we were to call a spade a spade, perhaps we should call most of us moochers

?

come on - give them a break will ya?

Rsachi · Post by **Rsachi** » 02 May 2014, 22:11

Online shopping for CM today is possible in many sites: Charsur, Kalakendra, and other leading brands. There are sites like Amazon and iTunes.
I have heard the so called labels have been giving artistes a bad deal and don't pay due royalties. This move for an artistes' collective is great. I welcome it.

All the best Sraavyam!

varsha · Post by **varsha** » 03 May 2014, 09:00

nick if we were to call a spade a spade, perhaps we should call most of us

More on spades .
From a scene in "The importance of being Ernest "

CECILY
Do you suggest, Miss Fairfax, that I entrapped Ernest into an engagement? How dare you? This is no time for wearing the shallow mask of manners. When I see a spade I call it a spade.
GWENDOLEN
[Satirically.] I am glad to say that I have never seen a spade. It is obvious that our social spheres have been widely different.

All in good humor . No offense meant to anyone

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 03 May 2014, 11:42

Online shopping for CM today is possible in many sites: Charsur, Kalakendra, and other leading brands. There are sites like Amazon and iTunes.
I have heard the so called labels have been giving artistes a bad deal and don't pay due royalties. This move for an artistes' collective is great. I welcome it.

All the best Sraavyam!

Rsachi - u hit the nail on the head. Not a poor deal but no deal at all.

sraavyam · Post by **sraavyam** » 03 May 2014, 12:23

Dear Rasikas,

Thanks for all your support.

Sraavyam was started with some basic principles in mind. As artistes, we understand the predicaments faced by artistes in the music industry.

1. We do not promote any single artiste or a group.

2. We give equal importance to all artistes regardless of their area of proficiency (vocalist, violinist, mridangist, kanjira etc). By looking at the concert picture, you would know the participants in the concert.

3. We treat all artistes as 'artistes' and do not term the violinist or the mridangam artiste as 'accompaniments'. The words 'accompaniment', 'accompanist' has acquired a derogatory meaning over a period of time. After all, they are artistes too and the seating arrangement you see on stage is only for convenience of the artistes. The concept of 'main artiste' does not exist in Sraavyam.

4. Every artiste will be featured in the 'Artiste of the day' section of our home page.

5. We do not record concerts without the prior permission of all the artistes (individually) who are performing. In the current scenario, We see lot of people recording the concert without the knowledge of the artistes and share the recordings freely through file sharing sites. This is a very disturbing trend.

6. We upload a concert in our website only after we receive approval from all the artistes (individually) who performed in the concert. Most of the artistes get surprised (unpleasantly) when they get to know from their fans that they heard a recording of the artiste's concert over the internet!.

7. Download notifications are individually sent to the artistes immediately after a concert is downloaded (sold). We do not receive such notifications from any of the existing systems that we know of. As artistes, we need to know how many copies of our recordings are out there!. Of course, piracy (by pirates

) is not accounted for. Also, when the artistes confront some organizations about their due royalties, the reply they get is that their content did not get sold.

8. Royalty accrual notifications are sent to the artistes on a weekly basis and settlements are done 3 times a year.

9. Rasikas can have a list of favourite artistes listed in our homepage after they login to our website, there by personal preference of the rasikas is accounted for.

We are working towards including all the artistes who agree with our terms into our system and this effort will take a lot of time. Trust is always built over time!

Thanks,
Team Sraavyam

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 03 May 2014, 12:29

I have heard the so called labels have been giving artistes a bad deal and don't pay due royalties. This move for an artistes' collective is great. I welcome it.

I welcome it too. I would just have liked to see a more up-front presentation: buy your music from us and the artists will get a fair deal. Yes, I would rather buy from such a scheme. "We encourage you to download..." is just misleading. "We encourage you buy," is straightforward.

Or is that the you guys have all got MBAs, and have, as per Varsha's quote, never seen a spade?

<Crossposted>

Team Sraavyam, I like your second post much better

. Less MBA and more real talk. All the best

)

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 03 May 2014, 12:42

Excellent idea from sraavyam and the idea to take permission from all the artistes concerned is a welcome trend. One more important aspect is the individual mail sending concept which informs the artistes about a download wherein they have been featured.

Another interesting aspect of this site is any artiste can come forward to record the concert (preferably Line-in) and request permission with the Team for uploading.

While Nick's quip is justified i personally feel this is absolutely positive move as far as the artistes are concerned. Without pointing persons and names of Big existing players in such market scenario, i personally have not got any money not even 1/- as royalty for even the best of artistes whom i have performed. If i enquire they will have a readymade reply saying "that concert did not sell", showing utter disregard fro the sentiments of multitudes of artistes like me.

A welcome move in this is absolute Transparency. The moment a concert is purchased all the concerned members of the concert will be individually ( mark my words INDIVIDUALLY) informed through personal mails and they will also be notified as to the amount that they will be paid on account of such a purchase by a rasika.

The rates for such download are also very nominal. I appeal to each and every rasika through this forum to help all the artistes in a small way by supporting such a cause. You all will be helping the artistes indirectly and as the time progresses a meagre additional regularincome is ensured for the artiste. It will be a big service for the carnatic music and musicians who thrive hard on all fronts at such hard times.

Hope my message is taken in the right spirit as i have always been a man of no-conflict.

Thank you

Mannarkoil J Balaji

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 03 May 2014, 12:44

Sraavyam
That was a nice post , thank you.
The below line is heartening

sraavyam wrote: 8. Royalty accrual notifications are sent to the artistes on a weekly basis and settlements are done 3 times a year.

Few more wishes:
--------------------
1. Hope more and more artists enroll and there is no territory or groupism of artists here .

2. I also see in general only few artists(one of them i have in mind) generally works in close quarters with a recording companies and there is a lot of sound equipment and high fidelity equipment going to those live concerts , so that high quality recordings do happen . Also packaging of that particular artist for the whole season is also available . Net result just one or very few artists have the clout to record it with best settings and sell ,so that internet downloads which have appreciably lower quality donot stand much chance and needless to say the opportunity to have more mind share for that artist goes away . I hope all of those participating artist also have that uniform quality. WE need democratization of quality recordings available to all participating artists.

3. One thing perhaps you have already thought but not done yet is to start selling even songs instead of albums.

While a significant artist give great concerts, when it comes to their financial stability - unfortunately is never that great. Best wishes.

sraavyam · Post by **sraavyam** » 03 May 2014, 12:47

You can buy individual tracks too!

If you click on the album/live concert image on the website, you can see the list of tracks and some of which you can purchase.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 03 May 2014, 13:57

i personally have not got any money not even 1/- as royalty for even the best of artistes whom i have performed.

And, I bet that when people ask permission of the main artist to make a recording, that, more often than not, the mridangist and violinist, etc, are not asked at all.

Yes, now we are clearing away some of the marketing-speak, and getting straight talk instead, I can see a good initiative. I really suggest to sraavyam that they take the same approach on the website, if not done already. Whatever they taught you in the MBA classes is wrong: we all much prefer straight talk

rasikas.org