Convergence

To be published in "Audio Sound Systems" 26^th October 2004

The worldwide phenomenon of Convergence has hit the Audio Industry in India with a vengeance and those people who dare not to take notice of it had better be ready to stay out in the wilderness! With the decimation of the Music Industry in India as we knew it a few years back, the Indian Audio Industry have had to pull up their socks and look for other avenues to eek out a living. Audio, which had come into it’s own with the millions of cassettes being sold in Indian markets, has once again been reduced to playing second cousin to Film, TV, Multimedia, Cellular Mobile phone etc. The days of the super Audio specialist are over and today he finds himself handling non-Audio issues more and more. He had better know all the different technologies that have been converged with Audio. This is an enormous challenge for the hundreds of Audio professionals in the country which have seen their craft trivialized as today just about anybody has been considered competent to do important Audio tasks.

In the Audio studio business, it has been the enormous power of music and audio software that has been responsible for this transformation. I have always welcomed the power of software to empower the potential musicians and recordists of today but what is truly disappointing is the lack of basic audio or music knowledge that these computer wizards possess. Today every computer operator is a musician and. every musician is a recordist! Audio loops have made the learning of Music redundant while presets in Audio software rule. A great sounding music piece is now just a few clicks away!

Piracy has emboldened thousands of kids all over the world including India, who have robbed powerful software worth thousands of dollars with no qualms or morality pangs. They have proceeded to wreck havoc in an industry, which as a result finds itself in grave danger. The economics of the industry has been destroyed and today it has become the survival of the cheapest. The prices have dropped all over the market and this has made it uneconomical to support the buying of quality equipment. This will naturally lead to a drop in quality. I guess with mp3s fast becoming the norm, the perception of quality will undergo a sea change. I hope it does not soon become unnecessary to record at higher resolutions! Great ears, which are the primary qualification of any musician and recordist, may then soon have to become the need of the past. Truly a sad state for the Indian Audio Industry, which boasts of such great talent.

Media Centers

I, like most people in Mumbai, think of it as the center around which the entire India Media biz revolves. Being the entertainment capital of the nation and the enormous clout that the Hindi film Industry possesses in the minds of the Indian public, this may seem like the absolute truth. However my recent show in Nuvem, Goa at the National Go Karting championships was an eye-opener as far as the changes that taken place over the years. The quality of the Audio equipment that has now become available to local talent in smaller centers all over the country was truly awesome.  There are now many cities in the rest of India that have seen the rise in availability of media facilities and audio/video equipment like never before. At one time, Delhi was the only challenger to Mumbai’s premier position but Bangalore, Goa, Chennai, Pune & Kolkatta are fast emerging as competitors. The competence and experience of the technical personnel could be the only cause of concern but this is fast disappearing with good media training now finally being available within the country. Unfortunately the flight to Mumbai of the best in other parts of India has robbed the rest of the nation of their talents. I hope that as the quality and quantity of the work in the rest of the country increases this trend will stop. I guess it should always be better to be a chief in a smaller town than a lackey in Mumbai.

Outsourcing

This buzzword could become the savior of the Audio Industry as India takes center stage in the eyes of the world as a viable business partner. The IT industry has strengthened the image of the Indian as a technically competent individual and like in the world of Animation, outsourcing of Audio processes could play major role in the reviving of our industry. Cheaper studio rates and talent has already seen the Marathi music/video industry moving to Pune and there is no reason why Mumbai cannot supply the developed world with the finest audio services they demand at lower prices. We, at Insync Studios in Mumbai, are today dealing with clients from all over the world. Our music production, mobile ringtones and ringsounds business has also seen us interact with worldwide clients. Indian talent and facilities have gained the respect of these demanding clients and they are now willing to trust us with their work. I, as an Indian, have always felt it important to occupy our rightful place in the hall of nations as one of the greatest. Today it is indeed a great feeling to have a satisfied overseas client and to keep the Indian flag flying at the same time!

Nandoo Bhende