The Internet — the ultra fast information highway of the last quarter of the previous century and the present decade — is the new information devta of this century. It is a situation totally different from the time when the audio-visual media seemed to threaten newspapers.
The fact of the matter is that while fleeting images on television may have made definite inroads into our homes with their so-called exclusive footage of news or views, newspapers continue to remain the one stop shop for both information and entertainment. For the value of the printed word far outweighs that of images. And the Internet is exactly that — a validation of the printed word combined with the best of visual imagery.
It is this which has perhaps impelled a revolution of sorts in the art world. Art sites all over the virtual and the real world reach out to those on the information highway to share the oldest and the latest on the arts scene at a click of the mouse.
Individual artists launch sites where they are able to disseminate information about their works, prices, availability, etc. This has set them free from the clutches of galleries and made them more accessible to potential clients.
Increasingly, the sale of high-end art works online is gaining ground, a vast improvement from the scenario where only prints and posters were bought online. This trust is largely thanks to the secure sites wary, but there is still a huge population which is still vary of using the net for substantial transactions.
In a scenario where space for the arts in the media is shrinking, the net has become the new saviour of sorts, promising hope for the arts globally. It is far more valuable than it seems on the surface. For instance, the web as a virtual art gallery puts the provider or seller of the art — be it the artist or the gallery — and the buyer in a situation of comfort of interaction, physical distance notwithstanding.
A gallery that puts its collection on the web makes it that much simpler to reach out to a clientele that is far more global. No matter how touchy-feely the business of art buying may be, the web has made it that much easier for the not necessarily erudite, to take a peek-a-boo into hi-art and get on with the business of buying and selling. Gallery owners are rather candid in admitting that potential buyers tend to first take a virtual tour before carrying out any sort of negotiation.
Be it music, dance, theatre, painting, culture or heritage, the net has demolished the existing structure of one way communication (television and newspaper), by providing the option of almost instant two-way communication. One area where the web has revolutionised the scene completely is music. The sheer array of music that is accessible to even the not-so-net-savvy is well and truly mind boggling! It is possible to download and create your very own personalised selection in virtually (pun completely unintended!) any form. It can take music out of the clutches of a chosen few to reach out for both entertainment and academic purposes. Sites are able to help one actually create your very own selection. And the list of such sites is increasing, which is a heartening indication of its success.
Institutions like the All India Radio, Doordarshan, Sangeet Natak Akademi, ICCR among others, which are repositories of some extremely rare footage and soundtracks are in the process of completely digitising the entire collections of their recordings. The process has already begun with DD and AIR marketing a few select CDs, and considering the sheer number of outstanding recordings available in their archives, this is literally the tip of the iceberg.
The situation vis-à-vis other performing arts like dance and theatre is similar. Dance recordings of contemporary performers and digitised versions of plays from the National School of Drama and even amateur theatre groups, which make recordings only for archival reasons or mere record purposes, will perhaps find that putting their recordings on sale on websites will have more takers.
Initially, there may not be a deluge of buyers, but it will serve an important historical purpose. After all, everything needn’t be market driven. There is also the miniscule minority of highly initiated connoisseurs who would love to access rare footage like Begum Akhtar singing Ghalib or Gopi Krishan dancing Kathak as Pandit Durga Lal plays the pakhawaj and Pandit Birju Maharaj the tabla!
Also, issues like copyright and legal ownership need to be addressed, to make the web a viable and potent vehicle for the arts.
However, it might be interesting to remember that a recent survey revealed that shoppers on an average take 19 hours to decide what to buy. Some take even longer — nearly a week. And shopping cart abandonment is actually a habitual part of the behaviour of several consumers. But instead of seeing that as a disadvantage, it needs to be viewed as a convenient window shopping tool. With search functionality, where returning purchasers can easily pick up where they left off is critical to turning window shopping into an actual sale tool. Of course needless to say, sites need to be safe and inspire confidence for the online shopper.