A push to get India鈥檚 folk musicians heard 鈥� and paid
| Bengaluru, India
In the summer of 2019, folk musician Salim Khan travelled nearly 500 miles from his hometown, the 鈥淕olden City鈥� of Jaisalmer, India, to do something he鈥檇 never done before: write a song.
Mr. Khan is founder of the folk group Jaisalmer Beats, a quintet whose members are Mirasi: Muslim communities known for playing a stringed instrument called the . For generations, they鈥檝e sung religious songs of praise in Rajasthan 鈥� a vast western state known for its deserts and sandstone architecture.
He was headed near New Delhi, to collaborate with the Punjabi pop duo Ahen and Gurmoh. 鈥淚 contributed my thoughts and then we strung together the lyrics step by step,鈥� he says. Over the next five days, the musicians recorded 鈥�,鈥� Hindi for 鈥渃ricket鈥�: a melodious track about a man pining for his beloved.
Why We Wrote This
Folk music is a rich reflection of India鈥檚 cultures. And it鈥檚 no relic 鈥� though the music industry sometimes treats it as one. This organization aims to keep tradition alive, by helping artists make a living.
Suddenly, Mr. Khan鈥檚 visibility was catapulted beyond Rajasthan, and invitations for paid shows outside his state began arriving. 鈥淚 received a lot of appreciation for the song from across the country,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 felt like I got my place among musicians.鈥�
鈥淛hingur鈥� was born at a residency conducted by the nonprofit , which aims to bring the music of unsung folk artists to the urban mainstream. Seventy percent of India鈥檚 musicians practice folk, but they earn only 2% of the industry鈥檚 revenues, according to research that founder Abhinav Agrawal did during a master鈥檚 degree at Boston鈥檚 Berklee College of Music. Those glaring figures drive his passion for showcasing folk artists to a wider audience, and helping them make a living. Though their tradition is a rich reflection of Indian cultures, many listeners today only hear the genre through movies, or adapted by indie bands.听With greater support, Anahad hopes to sustain and even strengthen an important piece of the country鈥檚 musical heritage.听
鈥淔olk songs are a form of oral history and represent our culture, and yet, they are somewhat forgotten outside of rural areas,鈥� says Rakshat Hooja, director听of Jaipur Virasat Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes the folk heritage of Rajasthan.听
In addition to Anahad鈥檚 free residencies with established bands, the foundation helps artists create a digital portfolio on their website, complete with new music videos, and teaches them entrepreneurial skills. Today, the site lists groups that include more than 1,000 artists.
Empowering artists
Mr. Agrawal developed an interest in folk while learning classical music as a child in Bulandshahr, just east of New Delhi. His mentors were folk artists, and he was struck by their common dream of releasing records. 鈥淭he feeling is that once your music is recorded, you become immortal,鈥� he says. But production facilities were unaffordable 鈥� and remain out of reach for most folk musicians today.
Mr. Khan, for example, dropped out of school at the age of 8 or 9, as his parents could not afford to pay for education. Learning music from his father and elder brother, he experimented with his harmonium and听morsing, a tiny percussion instrument, at the Jaisalmer Fort, whose 800-year-old sandstone walls are a hub for musicians. Mr. Khan grew up to sing professionally, but his income relied on tourist season and weddings 鈥� and agents who often pocket big commissions.
鈥淓very year, before the end of the summer I start borrowing money to keep the home fires burning,鈥� says Mr. Khan, father to two toddlers.
Back in 2011, when Mr. Agrawal was an undergraduate, he鈥檇 take a train to a new region every weekend to record local artists, and left them with a CD of their music.听Many called to say they had sold the CD and wanted more. That鈥檚 when the thought of equipping artists to commercialize their music first crossed his mind. He registered Anahad in 2013, but didn鈥檛 feel he had the chops to run an organization until he received his master鈥檚 in music business. 鈥淚 wanted to empower [artists] so that their music could become a sustainable source of income for them,鈥� Mr. Agrawal says.
Today, he and his wife, lawyer Shuchi Roy, co-manage the foundation alongside a production head, and offer a fellowship for ethnomusicologists.听To record musicians outdoors in their villages, Anahad has assembled a portable 鈥淏ackpack Studio鈥� with the help of Grammy- and Latin Grammy-winner Gael Hedding. Capable of running on battery for three days, it鈥檚 a boon in villages that have erratic electricity, or none.
The team doesn鈥檛 book shows for musicians,听but its websites help producers contact artists directly to cut out middlemen, though Mr. Agrawal says only about 70% of artists use it proactively.听
鈥淭here is little understanding of copyright among folk musicians and an inability to fight even if they do,鈥� says Ms. Roy. Since most deals by agents are made casually over the phone, she emphasizes to artists how important it is to put agreements in writing 鈥� 鈥渆ven a few lines on a plain sheet of paper or WhatsApp.鈥澨�
Deepening ties
In听its early days, when Anahad approached folk artists,听the organization鈥檚 members were听treated as 鈥渙utsiders鈥� and turned away. But over the past few years, they鈥檝e gained trust. Ms. Roy says she has helped more than 100 artists negotiate fair deals or push for timely payments,听and in one case, helped an artist negotiate for royalties after . Now many musicians reach out to Anahad themselves 鈥� including Punjabi folk group Rangle Sardar.
The quartet鈥檚 popularity shot up after the release of 鈥�,鈥� a song they composed with Indian pop-folk band When Chai Met Toast at an Anahad residency in 2019. 鈥淚n Punjab, everyone now asks for the boys who sang 鈥楰aram,鈥欌�� enthuses singer Maninder Brar. 鈥淲e now get to quote our own price for shows.鈥�
In India,听鈥渟tate governments usually promote a handful of folk musicians to attract tourists, while the rest are left behind,鈥澨齭ays Mr. Hooja. 鈥淎nahad has gone to the grassroots and documented the work of fairly unknown musicians and given them an international reach.鈥澨�
Back in Rajasthan, members of Jaisalmer Beats use their free time to teach singing, instruments, and a bit of business sense to schoolboys. 鈥淲e want young, educated children to learn music,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey will grow up to write their own songs, manage their own business, and also carry our legacy forward.鈥�
