The New Normal S01E03: ft. Aneesha Kotwani

11 May The New Normal S01E03: ft. Aneesha Kotwani

Spain will start allowing concert for 800 people in June. “The staged easing of the lockdown measures will see the outdoor areas of restaurants and bars allowed to open at 50 per cent capacity from May 11. At the same time, indoor venues which have a 90+ person capacity will be allowed to open for 30 people, and open-air events can host up to 200 people if they are all seated and socially distanced.”

Seems like the way to the New Normal might be via Spain…only if I could hop onto a plane and fly my desires to attend a concert there with ease – these thoughts wouldn’t leave me. Just a little over second half of Lockdown 3.0, the game play still seems a little tricky here in India. With certain allowances for non-essential travel and businesses back to functioning at some survival capacities, the only player that’s been the most consistent is Jersey No. 19 – Mr. Covid.

With potential digital menus and bar bots in venues around the city, are we also headed towards digital concerts where an international act plays from their living room and the performance gets streamed exclusively at a club in India? Personally, I’ve got some serious mixed feelings about this. With internet bandwidth getting eaten by numerous other things, a successful digital show might require custom network rigs and an extremely efficient internet connection. None of these seem like a viable option to put together a solid experience for the audience let alone getting the music business economy flowing once again.

To move forward with finding more clarity and answers about the next potential steps for artists, agents and the nightlife of the country, I sent a few questions to – Aneesha Kotwani. Living in Mumbai and leading many music, culture, bookings and artist management avenues  such as – Wavlngth, Humans of Music and She Said So Mumbai, it felt pertinent to have her views on the current situation. Last time I met her was at HVOB’s Delhi concert in January where she played a key role in putting together the massive show that it was. With Qutub Minar as the backdrop of the stage and hundreds of people swaying to the groove it surely was one of my favorite gig experiences before the pandemic hit.

Hearing her thoughts :

How has the current situation impacted your business?

To be honest, running your own business in the music industry when you are trying to defy the odds and targeting a niche audience as compared to the masses is anyways tough on the pocket. But on the other hand you want to stick to doing what you love. Yes, a lot of what I do revolves around producing tours for artists and since that might not resume for the foreseeable future, a key component of income has definitely been affected. However, I feel I have anyways been toying on the idea of exploring different ways on how I can create value for people and generate additional revenue streams within the music world – this break has given me the time to process and think through how I would like to envision moving forward from here. At the same time, I am also having a lot of conversations with my network – locally and internationally and also using every opportunity to get sound advice on how professionals across the world (especially those who I look upto) are dealing with this situation, what learnings can I take away and continuously optimize in real time.

Since you deal with both international and domestic artists, what has been your observation in regards to cancelations and bookings being re-scheduled? Have there been any similarities or differences in the way things were handled by artist/agencies outside as opposed to domestic acts?

There are always differences on how bookings are handled by artists / agencies locally and internationally. I think we have a lot of work to do to cultivate professionalism in how bookings are managed and foster individuals whose pure focus is only to be a booking agent for the artist and nothing else. I actually experienced a tour cancellation which was scheduled to take place in the 1st week of March, which resulted in a fair bit of a loss. We did bring this up with the agent a few days prior as there was news on the first few cases in India but were reassured that it would be fine. However, I feel in the immediate moment especially for tours getting cancelled before things came to a standstill, there was a lot of panic which resulted in a lot of pressure on the promoter. I don’t think that’s fair especially when the situation is out of everyone’s control, however I do empathies with every single professional in the music industry right now. I think more than the agents, a lot of promoters are now going to have counter clauses included so that the contract is 100% fair and not skewed in favor of the agent. I also hope, there can be a bit more compassion on how business can be done, as we all have to pick up the pieces post this after math.

Do you think, for an artist – touring is perhaps a stagnant avenue to monetize their art through in the future?

I think this is the time for artists to delve into their inner thoughts and come up with creative ways to monetize their art and most importantly knowledge. Human society are either interested in content that provides entertainment or knowledge. That is the advantage each of us have working in the creative industry because we can tap into both. Let’s not worry too much about monetizing via funding or sponsorship from third parties but let’s find DIY ways of how we can monetize our craft. There is a never a set agenda on how anything in life and business work, as long as it’s fair and doesn’t feel like cheating people of their money – I don’t see why tangible paid experiences will not get the support when moved to an intangible form. Also don’t stop creating, keep focusing on build your brand organically on the side until you get your “ka-ching” moment. Don’t be demotivated that you’re putting in the effort with no reward – hard work never goes unnoticed.

What according to you is going to be the new normal for artists, curators, booking agents, venues and festivals for time to come?

Wow. I got so mind boggled initially with all these thoughts going through my head, that I decided to keep them aside and take each day as it comes. What is going to be the new normal for people around us when we die? It is important for such experiences to take place for humanity to get a reality check – everyone is worried about uncertainty but I don’t think any of us have realized that life is always uncertain. So I think the new normal for me would be to see a change in how the entire eco system works from hereon. To be less competitive, to resolve any underlying issues and not burn bridges on the account of money, to create a difference in society through music, to contribute towards the environment and sustainability through music and most importantly to respect each other. If we can bring this inner transformation, I think mental health could be curbed, stronger relationships can be formed, conversations and friendships can be built which will automatically lead to new creative ideas of pulling through this.

How can artists focus on building a brand now that performance opportunity is next to none for at least the next one year.

• Keep working on your craft

• Practice

• Start thinking long term and flesh out a blue print, work on your game plan.

• Dream big, visualize, write all your goals down and don’t even flinch once to reach out to whoever that may be a great gate keeper to get you in. We are living in a great time where we are connected by the internet, let’s take that to our advantage. Everyone in the world is home and has the time to hear your music or maybe is in a more sensitive state of mind so who knows you could probably just knock that goal off by sheer hustling and persistence.

• Reach out to someone to mentor you

• Make music. Collaborate.

• Build your brand organically – see how can you get your music on playlists, radio shows, send them to influencers who can push it out

• Read and keep an eye out on upcoming trends that you could potentially integrate in your craft

• Take online tutorials to help people
• Keep dishing out content on your socials

The list can go on. All these efforts are only going to help you find ways to build your brand, open the doors to new ideas and not just have to bank on the performance opportunity. You have to keep pushing through and always remember that every step you take in the world out there towards your craft – online or offline, performance, content or education focused is a step towards building your brand.

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My biggest takeaway from this situation is the need for being more empathetic and mindful in the future. As Aneesha mentioned, things and life are too uncertain. We had huge concerts being organized, gigs happening in venues every week and even more being planned, and then, in a blink of eye – everything stopped. That’s how easy it was for one small virus that doesn’t even have a life until it enters a body to really bring us all on a standstill. Keeping faith as my byline and optimism a strong practice – I really hope the new normal is somewhat close to what our usual normal was – but not to forget, it will never be the same again. If you’d like to continue the dialogue with Aneesha, you can find her on Instagram – @Aneeshakotwani

Up next we have Raman Negi – front man of one of the most celebrated bands of India – The Local Train.

Stay safe stay tuned!

– Anhad Khanna

Photo Credits: Aneesha, Wavlngth