Day 1 at the tenth edition of All About Music hit the pulse of the music industry, with AI being the biggest talking point. Through the day, there were several panels and conversations with heavyweights from the industry and artists. Discussions ranged from paid subscriptions to exclusive announcements, how Indian music has become global and the importance of being original as an artist. Billboard India was there in the room to get the roundup for the day.
Badshah: The job of the industry is to protect the eccentricity of the artist
The last session of the day was perhaps the most-awaited. Rapper, entrepreneur, label-owner Badshah was in conversation with Siddhartha Roy, former CEO of Hungama Digital Entertainment. Badshah answered questions on blending his personal and professional life, why he became an entrepreneur (“money, of course”), and on Indian music and artists having “arrived” at the global stage. “The more local you are, the more global you will be,” he added, citing the popularity of artists like Bad Bunny and Diljit Dosanjh, and the changing definition of mainstream music.
Speaking on the relationship between the industry and artists, he said with great feeling, “The job of the whole industry should be protecting the eccentricity of the artist… Woh ek screw dheela hai, uski wajah se woh artist bana hai. Woh screw tight mat karo, sir. Woh dheele screw ko protect karke rakho. It’s your job to protect him.” He seeks to change things with his label, Pentertainment 0075.
A news that is literal music to fans’ ears: Badboyshah is indeed working on his new album titled ‘Gentle Monster’. His “biggest, most exciting” album yet, it includes collaborations with many artists including Shreya Ghoshal.
Will AI take jobs? Vikram Mehra of Saregama weighs in
As the Managing Director of Saregama, Vikram Mehra knew his opening keynote session would set the tone for the conference, and he carried that weight well. Delving straight into the potential of the Indian music industry, and the focus on paid subscriptions for music apps, he said, “Indians are ready for Audio OTT, someone just needs to make us pay!”
On AI, the “elephant in the room” he emphatically said that as an industry, “we’re not against AI.” But how does one adapt to it? Well, by addressing the issues of licensing, attribution, credit and royalties. His requests were to everyone from AI firms to DSPs. “Platforms make money, labels make money. Labels make money, artists make money,” was his funda.
In a later session, he also addressed concerns about AI and jobs. “We don’t see AI taking over our jobs, it’s meant to enhance productivity. We won’t lose jobs to AI, but to people who know how to leverage it better.” And for artists just starting out, “When so much of AI slop comes in, people will look for individual artists. Younger artists, hold on. You may get paid even more.”
The artist is the centre for YouTube
The conversation on AI continued in the presentation by Paul Smith, Managing Director of YouTube Music APAC. While highlighting the growing size of the Indian music industry and tracks like “Shararat” from Dhurandhar and “Bairan” by Banjaare making it to YouTube’s global charts, he also spoke about building a creative industry that is “the envy of everyone.” YouTube keeps the “artist at the centre,” he said, adding that between 2022-2024, the artist payout to creators in India was Rs 21,000 crore+.
On AI, the stance was clear: “Generative AI amplifies, it does not replace human creativity. Machines cannot replicate emotion.” However, AI can, and should be used to make an artist’s life easier. To help in management, to make copyright and protection easier, and to “bring ambitious visions to life without crippling studio costs.” Smith signed off, “Let us build a future where technology is a creative catalyst and fandom is a force.”
How can one identify an AI track? Soundverse has the answer
Perhaps the most technical, yet intriguing, session of the day was the conversation between Sandhya Surendran, Founder & Counsel, Lexic and Sourabh Pateriya, CEO, Soundverse, moderated by independent counsel, Shourya Malhotra. Delving deep into attribution, rights and provenance, the panellists discussed the creation and distribution of an AI-generated track, with strong takes by each. “Not all AI music is cringe. But most cringe music is AI-generated,” said Malhotra, Pateriya agreeing with a laugh.
Pateriya, who runs Soundverse, an AI-powered music creation company, believes that the value of AI lies in allowing “creative people to execute their vision with ease.”
At the same time, he urges people to “use it as a tool and not a replacement.” The best use of AI is with human intervention, he emphasises. “We add that in the tagging internally in our system, whether it’s fully AI-generated, human-accompanied, fully human-created. We definitely want to limit the fully AI-generated content. I think it has severe repercussions. Whenever a track is coming out of the Soundverse ecosystem, we add a very clear audio watermark to it. All the tagging is happening automatically, and we will pass that information directly to the DSP.”
In a world where AI is redefining the rules for all creative projects, this one is going to be interesting to watch unfold.
Ritviz is keeping his childhood dreams alive
Singer-songwriter, producer, and an electronic musician with a distinctly Indian voice, Ritviz unpacked his traditional music roots and Western music influences in an Ask Me Anything session. Moderated by Tusharr Kumar, CEO of OML, Ritviz answered a host of questions on mixing and mastering his own music, learning the technical side of music creation (“I want to go back in time and thank my 14 year-old self”), and new voices in the industry (“My biggest love is for [Chaar] Diwari”). He endeared himself to fans with his honest answers. “If it’s simple, it’s a good thing. If you’re being honest, it’s a good thing. Nobody can take that away from you. That’s your sound,” he said.
“The format [of my music] is very Western, but the centre is desi. It is gooey, it is very brown,” the Udd Gaye singer said. His upcoming album Kurta Saree and its international tour, where he’s encouraging the audience to dress in kurtas and sarees, is “the dream of 7th grade Ritviz.” He adds, “I grew up wearing the kurta. But then the minute hip-hop came into the picture, I found myself in baggy jeans. I never left the kurta though, and I think that’s what the representation today is. I can have a Balenciaga jacket on, but it’s always going to be on top of a kurta.”
Stay tuned for updates from Days 2 and 3 of All About Music X.
