The enjoyment and creation of music is a universal hobby—one that brings peace and calm in even the most difficult moments of one’s life. The tough times faced by many in the past year have increased the overall consumption of music, in turn encouraging many talented singers and musicians to go professional. Though it is easy to practice music as a hobby—by investing in the right instruments, collaborating with others and making cover versions of classics or writing one’s own music—converting this hobby into a viable career option is a tough task. In a world saturated with talented hopefuls, it is difficult to stand out in a crowd. Two things can help—recording your work in a professional studio and signing up with the right team to back you.
The collaboration of Faridabad-based RRE Studios and Songdew, a global music distribution platform, has made this task easier than ever before. Rajshree Agarwal, founder and CEO of RRE Studios, says, “Songdew’s team reached out to us when they came across our social media posts. They were looking for a professional Studio Partner with whom they could collaborate and provide opportunities to the independent artists on their platform, through contests.”
As a rule, the team at Songdew only promotes independent music and artists. The purview of their work includes help in releasing songs, in-depth promotions, showcasing talent on Songdew TV, providing interesting opportunities, and whatever else an independent artist may need. The popularity of this platform is evident through the number of artists that have signed on with them – more than 45,000 from around the globe. One of the interesting concepts initiated by Songdew is #wednesyays, as part of which they offer something new and exciting to the artists every Wednesday.
“Our collaboration with them is for their #wednesyays offer which they provide to their artists through their website. Artists are notified about these offers and can apply for them. As their Studio Partners, we receive a list of all the entries. Our team goes through the links of the applicants and announces two winners each time,” shares Agarwal explaining the scope of the tie-up of her studio with Songdew. RRE Studios then provides exclusive opportunities to the shortlisted winners. These include access to a complimentary online mastering session or a complimentary slot for recording. It is a win-win situation as it helps artists get access to a professional space and also helps RRE Studios gain traction amongst independent talent.
There are numerous benefits of recording a musical piece in a professional studio. With the right acoustics, right gear and professional engineers available in a convenient space, artists need to concentrate only on their craft, leaving everything else to the team at the studio. The studio also offers an ample amount of space, making it convenient for them to record with their band and instruments, and also enabling them to shoot indoor videos to accompany their tracks for visual appeal. Apart from the benefits of recording in a studio, these professional spaces are ideal for the live streaming of virtual concerts, making them a one stop shop for all the production needs of artists.
Through this collaborative exercise, both RRE Studios and Songdew have been able to support the independent artist community in Delhi-NCR, contributing to their journey of creating good music on their own terms, as their original songs. However, this is only one of the ways in which RRE Studios supports young and upcoming artists. “We have recently rolled out a super-saver membership package for artists and we frequently announce ‘giveaways’ or contests on our social handles with complimentary/discount offers. Follow us on our socials to know more,” says Agarwal with a smile.
For a young talented person embarking on a journey into the competitive world of music, opportunities of this kind are few and far between. Many times, these young artists do not have money to spend on booking slots for recording even if they are keen to do so. Getting a slot for free and availing all the services that a professional studio has to offer, is a rare opportunity that must be grabbed if one has the chance.
The writer is a lawyer who pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com. She can be reached on nooranand@gmail.com.