Music booms on OTT : If the music is good, it gets recognised, say musicians

Music plays an important part in every project and not just in films. With the OTT boom, there have been a number of melodies that have regaled the binge-watching audiences.

From the theme song of Scam 1992 - The Harshad Mehta Story to Labb Par Aaye from Bandish Bandits or Shaamein From Broken But Beautiful (BBB) Season 2, digital platforms have not just given the song-deprived listener new compositions but also allowed space for the Indian musician to grow and experiment.With viewers lapping up OTT content, music on the web space too, gives label artistes and indie musicians a chance to explore genres and experiment more with their craft.

Greater acceptability

Music director Amaal Mallik is glad to see that audiences in our country are gradually getting more aware about several genres and have a varied choice of music to listen to. “We’ve moved past the phase of waiting for our favourite musicians to release their music for films, to now streaming urban independent artists for their music. It’s amazing to see music that’s not associated with films and is still managing to make it to people’s hearts and playlists through all the streaming platforms,” he says.

Digital platforms have grown as a tool to reach out to a wider audience, feels singer Jonita Gandhi. She adds, “While in the past, more traditional methods were used to distribute and market music, now a significant amount of focus is being put on digital strategy, since that is where people are consuming music the most.”

However, music composer Vishal Mishra feels that music has evolved in all the spaces, and not just on the digital space. “People now don’t bifurcate music on the basis of platforms/mediums. It could be OTT, films or independent songs, if the music is good, it gets recognised,” says Mishra, who composed one of the most popular songs, Teri Hogaiyaan for BBB.

In sync with the story

Music plays a very important role in certain shows in the form of background score or situational songs. “A song or piece of music that plays in every episode and it helps connect with the project, such as the theme music of Game of Thrones. I recently saw Modern Love Season 2 and the music stood out for me,” says singer Shilpa Rao, adding, “Overall, music created for OTT projects are more specific to the project than traditional film music. It is less aimed at becoming commercial hits and more made to compliment and support the OTT content it is made for.”

Mallik chimes in that a watertight script, a good show and a good theme soundtrack is enough to get the viewers hooked. He explains, “Soundtracks such as Scam 1992 have shown that a theme song is also enough to make a listener or viewer engaged and involved in a show. Music in OTT projects is an extension of the storyline for people and gives creative liberty to artistes. Fortunately, content that was once considered a parallel cinema of sorts is now available to the world through streaming platforms.