World Music Day Special: The music that moves the industry

Eons ago, Shakespeare had written in his play ‘Twelfth Night’: “If music be the food of love, play on”. And it is music that moves the world. Music in its myriad forms means different things to different people – from providing succour to troubled souls to ushering in mental peace and even rousing people into rebellion against atrocities or simple creating a safe, personal cocoon from the world’s troubles.

World Music Day had its origins in France in 1982 as Fête de la Musique, founded by Jack Lang, then Minister of Culture of France and French music composer Maurice Fleuret. The day was meant to celebrate the day of the summer solstice. Since then it has spread across the world and is celebrated as World Music Day every year on June 21.

This World Music Day, Adgully reached out to a cross-section of leaders from the industry to know about their music choices and came up with some surprising findings. Read on...

Subhash Kamath, CEO, BBH India & Chairman, ASCI:

“I listen to a variety of music and have over 1,000 songs on my phone. They range from Indian folk, old Hindi film songs to Western music genres like Blues, Jazz, Rock, Pop, Rock & Roll, etc. I used to collect a lot of CDs before. But now it’s mostly downloaded or I use streaming services like Apple Music or Spotify. At home, I have a good surround sound system, but on-the-go, it’s usually my headphones and my iPhone. And sometimes, it’s on my car stereo.”

Ashish Bhasin, Co-Founder and Chairman, RD&X Network:

“I like to listen to old Hindi film music – from Kishore Kumar to Mohammad Rafi to KL Saigal. If I am at home, then it’s usually on my Bose music system. If I am travelling, it’s normally through mobile phones and airpods.”

Lloyd Mathias, Business Strategist & Angel Investor:

“Primarily, my favourite is Rock, then a little bit of Country and then a whole lot of Bollywood – 70s, 80s and 90s. I listen music on a Bose Signal, a family one, but when I am out for morning walk or gym, I listen to music on my Airpods on Apple Music app as it curates your playlist and it knows what you are listening to. I love listening to Eric Clapton, Elton John, Cat Stevens, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Madonna, Shakira, Lady Gaga, among others.”

Adrine D’mello, Creative Director Strategy, White Rivers Media:

“I love music, I think I enjoy pretty much every genre apart from Heavy Metal (do like some songs though). 70-80s Rock music is my go-to genre to unwind. I listen to Apple Music, but these days mainly YouTube Music. Being an avid gamer, I am streaming music on Spotify while gaming too. Currently, I just have an Ion turntable, which I plan on upgrading soon, but was bitten by the Vinyl bug during the lockdown.”

Shalini Gupta, Marketing & PR Professional:

“My love for music dates back to early childhood. Having grown up in a Bengali household in Kolkata and with my grandmother being a renowned singer in Bengal, I started training very early in life at the age of 7 years. I remember in Grade 1 I had to perform a solo in school by learning a tough Rabindra Sangeet over the weekend from my grandmother. I love listening to all kinds of music – soulful, ballads, pop, a lot of Western, Eastern and Indian music and across genres. My favourite has always been soulful, romantic and sad songs as they touch the heart and create a unique connection.

Nowadays, Spotify helps me stay connected to music of my choice as they have a good collection and I consume on-the-go or mostly even soft music plays while I am working. Music or good songs and singers are mood lifters for me and also inspire me. I don’t use music hardware, but at home I use JBL speakers, a mic with amplifier for solo performances, recordings and virtual sessions/ workshops. I also use an app for recording my voice without the ambient noise or sound.”

Actress Gulfam Khan:

“I listen to all kinds of music, my favourite changes from mood to mood. I am very liberal in my taste for music, being from a partial musical family I hear music in everything. There are various sources that I listen to music from, I have vintage vinyls to Spotify to YouTube – anything is fine with me. I have multiple of them, I like to have music on the go.”