Over 2K Attendees Tune-in for the 5th Edition of All About Music

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Industry Watch | October 7, 2021 | News

All About Music Tarsame Mittal

The fifth edition of All About Music (AAM) conference hosted virtually from 27 to 29 September 2021, saw more than 2,000 attendees from across the world tuning in to listen to over 200 domain experts.

Organised by events and entertainment collective Create & Collab, a division of TM Talent Management, AAM has evolved since its inception in 2017 as one of the largest B2B networking events for the music industry. It now sees participation from more than 300 companies in 25 countries.

On the impetus to organise such an event, Tarsame Mittal, Founder, TM Talent Management said, “I wanted people in India to learn from each other to build a united community for the music industry.”

This year, AAM focused on regional music, independent and non-film music, revenue opportunities, and evolving music technology. There was also equal emphasis laid on visualising a post-pandemic world for the industry albeit with a focus on emerging advances in innovation.

The conference ensured relevance for all stakeholders by addressing issues and insights around musicians, consumers, distributors and companies.

Celebrating Diversity

The conference kicked off with a keynote dedicated to the spotlight on regional music with Vikram Mehra, Managing Director, Saregama and Chairman of Indian Music Industry, throwing light on the success of artistes like Renuka Panwar (52 Gaj Ka Daman). Panwar in a subsequent session a day later recounted her rise, highlighting her roots and journey to stardom; offering lessons for those hoping to harness the power of YouTube.

Another highlight was discourse around the rapidly reducing chasm between creator and consumer, where social media has become a catalyst for a universe where everyone has the ability to showcase their talent. Indeed, to that effect, Paras Sharma, Director and Head of Media Partnerships at Facebook, said during a conversation with Devraj Sanyal, MD & CEO of Universal Music Group - India and South Asia: “In India, on an everyday basis more than 6 million reels are produced from across markets, demographics and tiers.”

Emerging talent, handpicked from scores of entries, were given the opportunity to pitch their songs to filmmakers, record labels and music supervisors. Industry representatives included VYRL, Tips Industries, Warner Music, Speed Records and Sony Music. Also, a collaboration with Rolling Stone India featured intimate performances by 24 artistes in a ‘Pitch Your Performance / Showcase’ segment.

Panels with speakers including Gunjan Arya of Only Much Louder, Roshan Abbas of Geometry Encompass and Kunal Khambati of Bookmyshow, advised business owners on economic insulation through diversification of portfolios.

Later, speaking in a panel on music beyond brands, Prabhu Ram, Head IIG and CMR, said, “In the last year we were very surprised to see audio in the top three smartphone specs that consumers are seeking.”

Quentin Staes-Polet, Director, EMEA, India, ASEAN - Unreal Engine at Epic Games, said, “There has to be lots of creators adopting immersive and interactive technology.”

With Indian cinema taking a backseat in the last couple of years, the future of Bollywood was also the subject of discussion. An all-women panel on independent journalism highlighted the trials and tribulations of covering a dynamic space like independent music.

Stalwarts from the world of music including AR Rahman, Asees Kaur, Gulzar, Guru Randhawa, Jubin Nautiyal, Kaka, Ilaiyaraaja, Tanishk Bagchi, Vishal Bhardwaj and will.i.am in conversation with each other was another highlight of the show.

Panels focused on rising relevance of South Asian talent internationally and a spotlight on Indian hip hop were part of proceedings. Music exec Scooter Braun’s advice to young musicians was, "Everything you need and every bit of opportunity is right here in India and if you can take it and build it here, the rest of the world will watch and chase you.”