As we wring the angst out of our hearts that 2020 dominated us with, and ring in the optimism of 2021 as a new beginning of our lives, there is one continuity- the musical joy that flows from these youngsters and that makes us optimistic about 2021 as we will get to listen to them a lot more. The collage is from The News Minute. I have many more young stars in my mind.
There are kings, queens, king-makers and ornery people like me in Carnatic music. Being at the bottom of the pyramid hasn't stopped me from giving some marketing tips to youngsters who have so much brightened our lives in recent times with their Carnatic music.
I have been tagged the "marketing" man all my life - for good or worse. So I thought I should share some thoughts on how these youngsters can do "Marketing" in 2021. In a good way. And please don't shoot me for saying this, because my intentions are beyond reproach. Let me simply state what I have observed in established stars and all-time greats and just put it in a capsule.
M A R K E T I N G. You can't escape it. Swami Chinmayananda says Bhagavan Krishna was a famous marketer who gave us the Gita!
So here goes:
M - Manodharma. D'ont blame me for listing first the biggest one. I can't help it that the word starts with M.
A - Attractiveness. This is important because you have to shine amidst the clutter and the cognitive overload in the all-live, always-on connected world. So your persona comes through loud and clear every moment.
R - Repertoire. Unimaginably high standards have been set by the reigning stars today. You have to master a wide range of compositions and concert elements. No escape here. And if you can do it like some of the stars shown in the pic - without memory aids, notes and iPads, so much the better.
K - Kinship, There is a lot of collaboration going on among musicians.This is a very welcome thing. So being able to productively and joyfully collaborate with others is a big deal.
E - Energy. This is the in-thing today, thanks to all the entropy built into our lives. Even sedate music can have energy, not a weepy sleepy quality.
T - Thought leadership. We demand a lot from musicians, and expect them to talk about things with insight and understanding. This is a tough one as it cannot be "put on".
I - Interactivity -Somehow you can't get away with just singing nowadays. You have to be in touch in every way with your audience.
N - Novelty. You have to be doing something new. All the time. And get it right, too!
G - Guru parampara. I have thrown in this very serious word that has become somewhat flavourless in the Twitter-FB-Youtube-Reality show age. Carnatic music without Gurus is dead. What I mean here is that one should not project, "Hi, I am a ready-made prodigy" image. Because nobody is really without a guru. And speaking with respect of your Guru and showing the humility of " I owe it to my Guru/s and I am still evolving in the path they showed" is important.
By using the word marketing I don't want you to think I am cheapening this discussion. Please take it in the spirit I have tried to share it in.
Have a great 2021!
