Mumbai: The last day of Ficci Frames 08' witnessed a provocative discussion on Listener's Choice: Changing trends in music among Chairman Emeritus and Founder Mobile Entertainment Forum Ralph Simon, Big Music CEO Kulmeet Makkar, music composers Salim and Sulaiman Merchant and Radio Mirchi CEO Prashant Panday.The panel agreed with the Merchant brothers' demand that educational institutions to promote music be set up in coordination with corporates so that musicians can be trained. While piracy continues to dog the industry, Simon suggested that creators of music, that is now a contextual backdrop in everything we do, should now look at different platforms and formats to monetise their creations. "Artistes need to become cross platform artistes and music labels need to develop the trust of both the consumer and the artistes, he pointed out. The Radiohead experience in the US was not just a counter intuitive one, but also a clever publicity stunt that managed to generate a lot of 'sneezes' - a term Simon used to explain the phenomenon of generating interest about a creative product.

The panelists also argued for the development of non film music in the country, a genre that has suffered while Bollywood music has become overpowering in its reach and grasp.

Panday who spoke next, dwelt on the 'P's crucial to the industry - piracy, popularisation of music and pop music that has been ignored in the din of popular Bollywood music. "Radio is able to deliver more music to listeners than TV can," he pointed out, saying that radio would soon take up more initiatives to find fresh talent.
Makkar, in his address, said that while physical sales are declining, the coming up of new formats like digitized music would help the industry One of the major reasons of the fate of music in India being questioned is the pattern of consumption, he pointed out. People are more keen on ownership of carriers and the technology of delivering the music than the content itself, he said.

Salim Merchant averred that while there is a vibrant film industry, there is no 'music industry'. His contention was that the music today is dependent on the film industry so much so that it does not have its individuality. He focused on the lack of encouragement for indi-pop albums today and how a music composer gets restricted with the certain film briefs. "The problem also lies in" he continued, "the budding talent which is unwilling to learn physical music.

Everyone wants to switch to softwares available on their laptops." The Merchant brothers now look forward to setting up a music school which would educate talent in music.