Aloud and rocking!

Jan 01, 2012 - Ganashree Kedlaya (The Asian Age)

Two hundred on-site artistes, 32,8639 followers on Facebook, 57,071 tuning in for a live WebCert — ArtistAloud.com has come a long way. An initiative pioneered by Hungama Digital Media, it’s a forum for independent artistes to promote their music, with fans even getting to hear and ‘explore the unheard’.
“We always knew there were plenty of talented artistes out there who needed to be heard. We understand the strength of digital media, that’s where we come in,” says Soumini Paul, the general manager, ArtistAloud.com.

The beginning
The team had its first digital show with Shibani Kashyap’s performance. It was in July 2009; it was raining heavily. “But that’s the beauty of it,” says Soumini, because neither did it deter “us from having our live show nor people screening it live”. Today, a host of artistes promote their music through ArtistAloud.com, making use of its live Web concerts, live streaming and live episodes. It’s also a launchpad for independent artistes to release their albums.
The road to success for ArtistAloud hasn’t been easy — from battling traditional views against ‘live shows’ to handling video productions of an entire show, the challenges are many. “I’ve a great team (of) believers, professionals who are highly passionate and creative. This has kept us going,” says Soumini.

Close connect
What’s adding to the growing popularity of ArtistAloud.com is its ability to let fans get close to all kinds of music and artistes, new and established. It’s, in fact, quite a personal experience. “The last episode ended with Gary Lawyer. We’re proud to have him onboard,” says Soumini, of the collaborative effort for a cause. The concert featured 11 artistes from different countries, recording an album digitally. They released a song for the World AIDS Day. “These people have not met each other even to this day, but their music came alive… beyond boundaries,” she adds.

Into the future
A.R. Rahman recently released Call Me Rashid, the debut album by his lead guitarist, Rashid Ali, on ArtistAloud.com’s digital music property, LaunchCast. Even Euphoria released its latest album, Item, on the online platform where artistes can release their albums through live performances.
“The digital world is where it’s at; that’s where everything will unfold in the future,” says Palash Sen, Euphoria’s vocalist.

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