Musician Dhruv Ghanekar: It’s imminent that artistes become their own CEOs and manage their careers like SMEs

Bollywood music composer Dhruv Ghanekar, who has recently composed the music for Kangana Ranaut and Arjun Rampal's action thriller Dhaakad, asked the musicians to become the ‘CEOs and managers of their own company’ so that they can be financially independent. The musician talked to OTTPlay exclusively about the independent music scene in India and the impact of the pandemic on the live performers. 

While talking about live performances, Dhruv said, “I think we need more venues in this country. Unfortunately, music has become free so artists have to depend on performing live to survive and hone their skills. Without mid-size venues, it becomes difficult. This is no one's responsibility as it is determined purely by market forces and economics. Hence, the audience needs to go out and support the artistes who they love. This will send out a clear message to the market about the demand. Over the last decade, many festivals have sprung up. But we need more venues to augment this. In a large city like Mumbai, we need at least three to four dozen music venues playing all kinds of music – from open mic to indie pop to jazz and rock. Classical and film music are well served. But it’s the other forms that need representation. Without that the music scene in India cannot flourish.”

The live music scene was completely disrupted during the pandemic. Several independent musicians, including Palash Sen and Anupam Roy, voiced concern during the period. Even the Indian classical music community joined hands to help the musicians, who suffered financially. As the live music scene is coming back, some of the musicians are gradually getting busy. Talking about it, Dhruv said, “Yes, I think it is slowly coming back to life. Artistes who have embraced social media and created their own brands will do well. It's imminent that artistes become their own CEOs and manage their own careers like SMEs. No one else is going to do it for you. It's sink or swim from here on.