Virtual platforms throw lifeline to music industry

• How musicians continue to reach fans as economic crisis puts a stop to live events

With the recent fuel shortage paralysing the country, the music industry once again took a hard hit and has virtually shut down. Live events are a thing of the past, and while we managed to squeeze in a couple of live gigs here and there during the brief period after the pandemic let up and before the economic crisis hit, one can only dream of anything entertainment-based happening these days.

Fortunately for musicians and their audience, we live in the age of the internet. It is now possible to upload music, post music videos and even hold concerts all online!Brunch reached out to a few musicians to see how they plan to incorporate the virtual world to evade the crisis and what state the local music industry is in currently.

Upcoming musician Damith Madhusanka observed that social media has a huge impact on the marketing field so if you know how to be creative, there is no doubt that one would be able to grow a huge audience. From there, anyone can promote their music. Despite this, he noted that unlike singers, virtual platforms aren’t not practical for instrumental players. “For vocalists, virtual platforms are the best way to start up. Singers have the opportunity of getting in touch with anyone lyrically but for instrumental players, it depends on the listener’s interest so it is very hard to collect a quality audience in a virtual space for us,” he noted.

We asked him what his opinion on the local music scene was, given the current situation. As someone just entering the industry, he adamantly advised fellow amateur musicians to not give up on the wonderful experience they are about to enjoy, just because everything is hard right now. “Every start can be hard but if you put effort into it, you will forget the hard part within weeks,” he shared, further highlighting that it is important to not take some people’s criticism too personally and stop what you started. “Always take anyone’s criticism as a challenge to yourself; you have to prove them wrong and believe in yourself,” he told us.

We also reached out to renowned musician Rohan De Lanerolle to learn his thoughts on how the current situation is impacting long-time musicians who make a living mostly off live shows. He pointed out the biggest problem in the industry right now, saying that in Sri Lanka, people do not understand the value of music because they just focus so much on fame and don’t see what is important. “Anyone can be a singer or a rapper but everyone can’t be a good musician,” he noted.

He also observed that people don’t seem to realise how many other jobs are also affected with the impact on the entertainment industry. De Lanerolle shared: “It’s not just the artists that have been affected – if the artist doesn’t have work, there’s many people down the line who don’t have work.” 

Talking about the sound equipment they usually set up at Hilton, Colombo, for example, where The De Lanerolle Brothers are commonly seen performing, he informed us that if they are unable to perform, then the man that handles the sound equipment will be out of a job as well.

“This leads to a ripple effect – if the sound guy doesn’t have work, then the compere does not have work, companies won’t have any events to advertise, the waiters who serve at the venues hosting concerts will be affected, and so on and so forth.” He also informed us that these pieces of sound equipment can cost up to millions of rupees, and if kept unused for long periods of time, they begin to deteriorate, leading to a complete waste of money.

The two brothers recently held a virtual concert as well, taking a step into a digitalised music industry. On the topic, De Lanerolle quipped that never, even in his wildest dreams, would he have ever imagined that a pandemic and economic collapse could create such an uncertain situation where they have to make music for an audience miles away. “The fact that we had to create music via online platforms for people listening at home taught us that music is an art that heals. So many people have thanked us for bringing our shows to their doorstep after being stuck at home since the pandemic, and now this [crisis],” he commented.

Despite live events being at a near standstill, at the cost of all those who earn a living through the entertainment industry, it seems musicians are able to carve a niche for themselves in the online market, with chances of reaching a global audience as well. So while they may well miss performing in front of their fans and the feedback energy that they thrive off, it seems we have entered a new era of entertainment – a virtual one.