Reflections and Learnings from my time at OKListen by Srishti Mohlah

27 Jan Reflections and Learnings from my time at OKListen by Srishti Mohlah

In 2021, Global Music Institute partnered with one of India’s leading music distribution companies OKListen, to provide students and alumni with internship opportunities. Today, one of our alumnus, Srishti Mohlah, shares her experience of interning at OKListen and exploring the often overlooked sphere of the music business- music distribution.

OKListen is India’s first and only homegrown music distribution company, and I was fortunate enough to have interned there for six months. Initially given the role of outreach for the northeastern region of India, my work entailed researching about the up and coming artists and getting a deeper understanding of the music scene in the northeast. I discovered that along with being full of raw talent, the northeastern states have a deep and strong sense of community that flowed into the music scene as well.

While music is all pervasive and respected, there was little to no awareness about music distribution. Most people either only did live shows, or only uploaded their music on Youtube and Instagram which greatly affected  their music’s accessibility and growth. 

Neela Akash by Bipul Chettri, distributed via OKListen

 A significant part of my work for outreach involved spreading awareness about music distribution services in India.While discovering northeastern music, I also learned a lot about the influence of various genres of music in the region over the past few decades. What used to be dominated and heavily influenced by rock and metal earlier, was now getting swept over by the wave of hip-hop, rap and electronic music. The world of fusion also found its way into the scene, where boundaries were transgressed, and folk and electronic music came together to make an impact.

After a few months, alongside outreach, I started learning more about the technicalities of the distribution process by working on the backend, and distributing music via OKListen’s partner- The Orchard, a subsidiary of Sony Music. My role also involved learning about, and working on various other areas of distribution such as A&R, artist support and social media marketing.

Working at OKListen helped me to not only understand the various aspects and workings of a music distribution company, but also about the current trends and waves of the Indian indie music scene. I observed that though the Indian indie scene has been growing dynamically every single day, it’s still at its infancy stage. A lot still needs to be done with regards to awareness about the other side of the industry which entails music distribution, publishing, and marketing and contracts, to name a few.

Blue by Temsu Clover, distributed via OKListen

Personally, I have always felt that folk artists would benefit greatly from music distribution companies when it comes to properly documenting and distributing their music on accessible platforms, gaining nation and worldwide recognition and preserving their legacies.As an aspiring artist, for me, working at OKListen highlighted some very important lessons such as music distribution does not equate to marketing. Through this experience, I learned about the importance of planning one’s release well in advance, and how record labels and production houses in India function, to name a few. My experience has definitely shaped me into a better informed individual and now I know what to expect, and to look out for when it comes to seeing music distribution from the lens of an artist.

An aspiring composer and performer, Srishti Mohlah’s early childhood was spent learning Indian Classical music. She completed her ‘Prathma’ with Bhatkhande Sangit Vidyapith, Lucknow. Having lived in different Indian cities growing up, her musicality has been inspired by Indian folk music, progressive rock, Indian classical, orchestral and fusion music. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Economics Honours and working in the social sector, she decided to change directions in pursuit of her passion for music which brought her to GMI in fall, 2019. She is currently working as the Outreach Coordinator & Student Adviser at GMI.