In 2019, Maruti Suzuki’s NEXA came up with an initiative named NEXA Music, in collaboration with Qyuki Digital Media—a creator focused new media company—to provide a platform for original and emerging English artists, who would be mentored by Grammy and Academy winning award musician, ‘The Mozart of Madras’, AR Rahman.
In 2020, four winners were crowned: singer-songwriter Nisa Shetty, singer-songwriter pop duo Simetri (Simran and Riya Duggal), Indie band Heat Sink (by Chirag Todi); and Nagaland duo Jonathan Angami and Pelenuo Yhome.
With the launch of Season 2 in 2022, singer-songwriter Gaia Meera, musician Hanu Dixit, singer-songwriter Sunep A Jamir, and musical artist Inga (Aishwarya Sridharan) stood tall as the winners.
Over a period, NEXA Music has stood out as a platform where it has honed and mentored several artists.
With the launch of Season 3, things are set to get even more interesting, as the platform is tapping into regional music as well.
“According to me, what NEXA is doing is good. Even Anand Mahindra (chairman, Mahindra Group) is spearheading the Mahindra Blues Festival. Giving back to the community is very important. I think more people like them should come forward and fill in the void which younger people are facing. Giving back to the community is important,” Rahman explained.
Juhi Mehta, COO, Qyuki Digital Media
Juhi Mehta, chief operating officer, Qyuki Digital Media, added, “This time, we are actually turning it into a spotlight platform. We are letting the artists showcase their music their own way. They can come in and give us what they want to show and we will judge them based on that. So that’s a big difference.”
This project began in 2019. What goals did you set for yourself then? How pleased are you with the progress?
Rahman: It is amazing that a big brand like NEXA is providing a platform for indie musicians. We discovered so many amazing musicians during Seasons 1 and 2.
It is a great move to include regional music in Season 3, because music is not confined to one language. We have already started the auditions, and I’m hoping that we come across amazing things from different parts of India.
Mehta: The NEXA brand is built on lifestyle. And in lifestyle, music plays an integral role. So, the expectation was to try and build affinity through music. We outdid our best expectations.
In season 1, we had some 75,000 subscribers and more than 70 million views. We almost doubled that in season 2. The average view-through rates (VTR) for season 1 stood at 45, and in season 2 it was about 60, which is way above industry standards.
The kind of content we were creating helped the brand achieve its goal of recruiting more fans. Hence, it’s done well both from the perspective of the artists as well as the brand.
Nisa Shetty performing at the Season 3 launch
What were the early challenges and how did you overcome them?
Rahman: The challenge was to arrive at a shortlist of 24. There were so many good applicants with different styles. We definitely had about 48 good entries.
Mehta: Sir (Rahman) really struggled with the shortlisting because there was just so much talent out there. That said, since English music is a niche genre, and original western artistes really need such platforms to be discovered. Most of the music that is being consumed in India is just film and popular music.
A lot of independent music today is vernacular. While we are moving beyond western music, the platform will continue to have that as we’d like to give those artistes an opportunity.
Rahman: Seasons 1 and 2 featured English music only. Last year, my son (AR Ameen) did a song called ‘When You Criticise,’ which got more than 50 million views.
What are your plans for NEXA Music? How do you want to take it to the next level?
Mehta: We wanted to move beyond a niche genre, and be more inclusive. Therefore, we’ve gone regional. There are no boundaries. Music irrespective of language — as long as it’s independent and original — one is welcome to join in.
So, that’s how we widened the scope, and we’re also hoping to make the property more relevant to people who are listening to music in their own languages. We have fairly tall ambitions on overall property reach. We want to build more affinity and increase engagement. This is while we create phenomenal music and identify great talent.
From left to right: Singer-Rapper King, Mozart of Madras AR Rahman, American rapper and songwriter Raja Kumari and singer Arjun Kanungo
What impact do you think social media has had on the music industry and Indian talent? What has struck you the most as far as how the industry has changed due to social media?
Rahman: In the 1990s, people were listening to a seven-minute track. Then it became five minutes, and now it’s 15 seconds. We just need a hook (a lyric of the chorus) for a TikTok video or a reel, and that becomes popular.
But when I hear the full song, it is not constructed properly and doesn’t stand. There are so many songs like that. That change has happened. But we see that there are fans for the long format also. They say, ‘We love the long format you’re doing.’
If there is one hit song in a film, it attracts people towards the movies. This was the case earlier too, but today it’s even more. A song pulls people towards the movies not only because of the music, but also because of the way it’s been picturised.
You have been associated with several brands in various capacities. How has the approach of brands and corporations towards music and the arts changed? What role do you think brands can play today in fostering talent and building a thriving music industry?
Rahman: What NEXA is doing is good. Even Anand Mahindra is spearheading the Mahindra Blues Festival.
I think more people like them should come forward and fill in the void which the youth are facing. Because, giving back to the community is very important. We still don’t have proper infrastructure for art centres where we could have a world-class radio city or Sydney Opera House. There is Nita Ambani Cultural Centre, which she (Nita Ambani) has built out of passion. But, what about the rest of India?
AR Rahman with Partho Banerjee, head – sales and marketing, Maruti Suzuki
I think corporations should come in and build the infrastructure. There is a Coca-Cola Arena (multipurpose indoor arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates) and every state needs something. Corporates should up the game for their legacy. Because their name is going to be mentioned for generations if they build that infrastructure. We need four or five in each state. Talking about online entertainment, that might come to an end. With three words, one can create a music video.
But nobody can see a live performance where children are being the participants of Ramayana or Shakuntala or Bombay Dreams (Bollywood themed musical). That I believe could be the future of Indian entertainment which brings back a sense of belonging to families where their children are involved in something artistic, where the whole world marvels, and they take a flight which in turn would improve tourism, respect of the country and raise the economy.
Apart from the introduction of different languages, how different is Season 3 going to be?
Rahman: The introduction of different languages is going to lead us into something very interesting. If you take the example of Coke Studio, they bring in two diverse things together to make something new. Season 3 could be doing something more and going deeper.
A glimpse from the Season 3 launch
Mehta: Last time, we mastered and produced the songs of the artistes. We invited senior music producers Clinton Cerejo and Mikey McCleary to produce these tracks for them.
This time, we are letting the artistes showcase their music in their own way. We are asking them to do their own video. They can come in and give us what they want to show, and we will judge them based on that. That’s a big difference. They can showcase themselves exactly the way they want.