Shrabasti Mallik finds out why India is becoming the next big destination for top international music and dance festivals like Sensation, Tomorrowland and Don’t let Daddy Know
The air is getting tense. Every passing moment is breathing heavy and you cannot wait to see the big screen light up. The stranger standing next to ceases to be one as you get talking about when the anticipation is going to end. All the bated hysteria vanishes the moment the DJ takes his first step on the stage. The crowd goes wild by the time he reaches the turntable, and things turn wild as the first track rolls out.
We might be talking about one line-up at Sunburn, Goa but did you know that there are quite a few music and dance festivals. international at that, happening all through the year, all over the countryIJ
Yes, you do not have to wait to hit Goa during the EDM festival, you can very well shake a leg at festivals like Tomorrowland (to be hosted in July in Hyderabad), Don’t let Daddy Know (to be hosted later this month), Sensation, Mad Descent Block Party and SHM One last Tour among many others.
We got talking to organisers of few of these grand festivals about what makes India and the people the best recipients of the biggest international dance and music festivals.
Bring the edge on
According to Shubhra Bhardwaj, Founder and creative director, Ferriswheel Entertainment India (Tomorrowland UNITE second edition 2016 and Don’t let Daddy Know 2016), the Indian dance music market has been a burgeoning phenomenon and a global mainstream and has taken India’s young, urban populations by storm! “However, as the dance music scene develops and progresses, there is a thirst — a need for international concepts and properties which we are trying to bridge,” she added.
The rapid rise of India as one of the most sought out destination for musicians and large-scale festivals to prod is because a DJ’s love for the land. And we, fans, love them, too. “There is a huge market and captive audience for it and all the infrastructure we need! What more could we possibly wantIJ” smiled Bhardwaj.
Karan Singh, CEO, Sunburn gave us a glimpse of the other side of the coin. He explained that the country has a population of over a billion, of which the youth form 60 per cent of the figure. “They are very aspirational and wish to travel to international music and dance festivals but sometimes cannot make it for multiple reasons. We strive to bring in some of the bigger players in the industry so that they can enjoy a similar or maybe better experience in their own country. And fans are always open and welcoming to all the International dance music festivals we get to India,” pointed out the man behind bringing international concepts like Tomorrowland Unite, Mad Decent Block Party, ASOT, SHM One last Tour to India.
It is even benefitting the market. Today every major sponsor and investor are viewing these festivals which serve as a great youth-driven platform as a beneficial marketing proposition. “India has a huge fanbase for most EDM artists and with the advancement of newer technology, as a country we are equipped to handle global set-ups and stage design,” said, Vinay Hegde, founder, Voila Events who brought Sensation to the country.
Hegde added that today music is not viewed as a specific genre and every genre has a huge scope to develop further and have a dedicated fan following. However the trend in the past five years has been more EDM-centric and the scope to develop the indie, pop and rock scene still remains vastly undiscovered. There was a time when artistes like Akon and Bryan Adams drew in huge audiences but today fans come out in numbers equally for an Afrojack and Armin van Buuren.
Keeping it real
While the organisers try to stick to international formats and standards, it goes without saying that the local Indian touch and flavour to things is key. We come to know from Bhardwaj that India has an incredibly good infrastructure, such as equipment, speakers, sound sampling, lighting equipment, lED’s CO2s and pyro techniques for large dance music events. “local vendors and suppliers have been acquiring good equipment for a while and they’re now in a position to provide equipment that will stand the tests of outdoor,” she added.
For Sensation, however, Hegde had imported technology and stage design from Amsterdam whereby the cost of the production had shot up. “The formats, once again, are what are approved by the umbrella global brand because we wish to giver homegrown audiences a taste of what they would get when they are in Miami, Belgium or Amsterdam. The only modification is maybe adding an Indian act to promote our local talent on a global platform,” he said.
Well, India has always a had a strong affinity with music and art, and we believe that this is just the beginning of a long way ahead.
PlACES AND VENUES
Established
“Today there is a misconception in India when it comes to preferred venues to host large format IPs,” mentioned Hegde. According to him every city is very well equipped to host such events. However when it comes to permissions and security he feels that Hyderabad is very proactive. “I feel Hyderabad is a fast developing city because of relentless support from the government bodies and tourism board who wish to develop Hyderabad as the next music festival destination and attract a cosmopolitan inbound traffic. Gachibowli stadium is an ideal venue in Hyderabad that can cater to large audiences upto 30k fans and magnanimous production,” he added.
Some of the key markets are Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Indore, Gujarat
look out for
Singh believes that the newer markets are actually a lot more responsive and willing to accept what music festivals offer. “Some of the other markets like Chennai, Calcutta, Pune have also been picking up a lot,” he said.
On the other hand, Hedge is of the opinion that today fans in every city are well informed of music trends and they come out in numbers to support the festivals. “With the advancement of technology and infrastructure in the tier two and three cities, global properties are viewing these cities as a testing ground for possible expansion in undiscovered activation markets. You would be surprised but smaller metros have a more committed fan following and a higher spending power when it comes to such international IPs,” he explained.