Gauging the success of songs on OTT shows: Part II

By Rajiv Vijayakar -

October 28, 2023 - 3:00 PM IST

Continuing with our discussion on music on OTT platforms, here is the concluding part.

Gauging the success of songs on OTT shows: Part II

Lyrics-friendly songs

Astha Jagiasi, an electrical engineer by training, is in her late twenties, and has penned the key songs of Jehenabad. “Yes, they were shocked to realize that I am so young and from a different line and have yet written beyond what they wanted!” she admitted when I mentioned what Rajeev and Sujeet stated about her.

“I always was a creative person,” she explained. “I first wrote songs for a movie called Pehelwan. But when I got Jehenabad, I read a lot on Mao, Bastar and other places, as I too hail from Chhattisgarh. I watched a few interviews too. But honestly, besides taking inspiration from our legendary lyricists and poets, I feel that I get attuned with the universe whenever I start writing! I feel that I am one with the character in a situation and that works like magic!” Astha concurred that there is much more freedom on the web to get connected with a story and a situation in web series, as there is less commercial compulsion. Lyrics here, she says, are important as a result.

As Neel Adhikari (Tooth Pari, Modern Love: Mumbai), a composer who had spoken earlier to the media, had stressed then: a song must be so important that if it is missed out, a part of the story too will go missing for the series.

The Marketing

Says Aman, “I think music has been established in web series, and can only evolve! People are listening to our songs.” A cautionary remark, perhaps inspired by what is happening in films now for years, comes from Rajeev: “We are creators and must come out with something of our own that will last, like the best of film songs. A song should not be forced but be created in a proper situation.”

Raghav feels that marketing too will be boosted in the times to come. “But it would be naïve as of now to hope for similar expectations as cinema. The ecosystem needs to be evolved,” he said. The key aspect—the budgets—are “workable”, feels Sujeet. “They can only get better as the use of music becomes more serious!” he pointed out optimistically.

YouTube and music sites like Spotify and others act as active indices of how the songs are working with the people in this digital era. While one of the young composers above has dwelled a bit on the lack of exposure to the creators of songs on OTT, Ramprasad said on a positive note, “We have also worked with Somesh Saha on Masaba Masaba 2, Anurag Saikia on Mismatched 2 and Neel Adhikari on Little Things and Tooth Pari. And I think there is a growing scope for songs. We do lay stress on lyrics as well as a way of enunciating emotions that will otherwise need many scenes, like with ‘Aisa kyun’ in Mismatched 2. As for the marketing or success, everyone consumes a well-written, well-produced song. There is no shortage of recognition! Of course, we also look at marketing, though a great song may not need it!”

He explained, “There are ways to assess how a song has done, and songs go viral on Insta, FB and others as well. We had 2.2 million streams for ‘Aisa kyun’, 4 million for another song, and I also believe a song that is great will travel by itself. And in the case of Netflix, a song within the show travels to 200 countries and more at the same time.”

Amit Trivedi speaks of another method of feedback. “When I do stage shows, I find that the audience sings with me. You hear songs playing in salons and at parties, and people responding or singing along. Then they make reels also that go viral!” He mentioned that songs from Qala and Jubilee did make these grades.

The tune they are all basically singing is sharp and clear: in our country, if not everywhere in the world, a song empowers the creators and the listener.

Also Read: From Bandish Bandits to Guns & Gulaabs, how music on OTT has evolved Part 1