MUMBAI: India's biggest career musicians, concert promoters and industry experts have analyzed that the industry is on the path of progress but certainly needs more efforts and transparency to accomplish growth.

A panel of music industry’s top professionals discussed the positive- negatives changes brought about by growth of the music industry on Day 2 of ‘Music Works’ an interactive seminar organized by True School of Music (TSM) from 25-27 June in Mumbai.

“On the positive side, the music industry has grown so much that there are many career opportunities available now especially in the sound engineering and editing professions. Bands and event management companies need sound engineers while artists and bands can work with editors for their videos.  What needs to be organized is artist management, touring management and sound & lights arrangements,” Mixtape founder Naveen Deshpande said.

There has been so much explosion of shows and events that there are not enough musicians to meet demand.

“Back then music events meant college festivals and small events with around 30-40 musicians. Today there are so many events including club dates that there are not enough good musicians to fill the slots. The downside of the industry’s growth is a hassle with police and moral policing,” Sohail Arora, Krunk who represents electronic artists and undertakes bookings.

Founded in 2009, Krunk is an all-India artist management and booking agency specializing in local and international talent within the music industry.

For all the progress that the industry has made, there are some habits like avoiding paying for music gigs that still need to addressed.

“The lack of ticket buying culture has to be addressed. People now are willing to pay for good food, a good film but not for music. They still ask for free tickets and I think it’s cheap,” Fountainhead chairman Brian Tellis said.

For playback singer/composer Kailash Kher, the area where things can improve is the general ignorance and disdain to music, especially  by the media.

“There is a lack of education regarding bands and music. It seems that editors ask crime reporters without an assignment to cover music. Their lack of knowledge can be scary.  Guys like me from a city like Meerut can tough it out, but many sensible musicians can’t handle it,” he said.

However, he is happy with the improvement of the industry with the new talent introduced.

A great development in the industry is the fact that audiences can now watch the artists paving way for entrepreneurial opportunities in the audio-visual medium among music talent.

“Today we ‘watch’ music more than we listen to. This has led to the artists developing an identity of their own with their works. The days when Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan lip synched to songs are on their way out. Music directors Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (SEL) now go on tour, attract audiences and sell shows by themselves. People identify them and their songs now,” Orangejuice founder Owen Roncon said.

Providing a very rational and positive perspective to the discussion, Only Much Louder (OML) Dhruv Jagasia said that changes will come on their own. “The internet has helped in bringing about clarity and approach in every business deal. Today one can avoid being cheated on show and event deals because the rates of an artist/ band are all there on the net. Things are changing so fast that it is happening in our lifetime(s) - there’s no time for reminiscences. I don’t see any reason for things to change, change will come on its own,” he concluded.