tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88352329331997853582024-03-12T16:45:33.542-07:00A Musician's Musings
An indie musicians learnings along the way.
I am a musician,guitarist,engineer,traveller and entrepreneur.
Since I switched careers (IT engg-->Music), the whole journey as a musician
has been a great learning experience for me.This blog is
about my learnings and experiences on this journey that hopefully will help a lot of other musicians like me out there to learn about
the way things work in the music industry.Pragnya Wakhluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18233243348954161695noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8835232933199785358.post-49123548868343026672016-01-24T21:30:00.000-08:002016-01-28T01:07:14.843-08:00How to submit your music for the GIMA awards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HVPs42wt7Bw/VqJw03sgAmI/AAAAAAAAET0/enddH7wQqGk/s1600/IMG_1558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HVPs42wt7Bw/VqJw03sgAmI/AAAAAAAAET0/enddH7wQqGk/s320/IMG_1558.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My best friend Divya and me at the GIMA's in 2014</td></tr>
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After I got nominated for the Global Indian Music Awards(GIMA) awards in 2014 (Best Music Debut & Best Pop Album <a href="http://www.gima.co.in/oty-non-film-music-nominees.php?y=2014">http://www.gima.co.in/oty-non-film-music-nominees.php?y=2014</a>) I had a lot of indie musicians ask me how I submitted my music for GIMA, information about the deadlines etc.<br />
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I thought I'd write a blog post about the same so that more indie musicians can submit their music for consideration.<br />
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Read on..<br />
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<b>"Why should I submit to GIMA? I'm really about the music and not the awards"</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ymCcGa2uHws/VqJw2sE0NsI/AAAAAAAAEUE/2nw-URPAHB0/s1600/IMG_1561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ymCcGa2uHws/VqJw2sE0NsI/AAAAAAAAEUE/2nw-URPAHB0/s320/IMG_1561.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clinton Cerejo's band performing at the awards</td></tr>
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The reason you should submit your best work for GIMA, irrespective of whether you win an award or not is because of the stellar jury that will listen to it. The Jury comprises of some of the stalwarts of the music industry including established music directors like Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy & Leslie Lewis, classical musicians like Taufiq Quereshi, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt , Hariharan and lyricists Javed Akhtar and Prasoon Joshi ( two of my favourites from the industry). To some, the award is a validation of their work, to some it is not..but to all musicians , this is a great opportunity to get your music critiqued and more importantly heard by the best in the industry. You never know what opportunities might stem from there. Give it a shot I say!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mUXyA505uSw/VqJw4ABlP_I/AAAAAAAAEUk/S8KlR4_wVQ0/s1600/IMG_1568.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mUXyA505uSw/VqJw4ABlP_I/AAAAAAAAEUk/S8KlR4_wVQ0/s320/IMG_1568.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ranveer Singh hosting the awards</td></tr>
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<b>"But I thought GIMA was all about Bollywood music"</b><br />
What a lot of indie musicians are not aware of is that the GIMA awards exist for both <b>Film and Non-Film Categories </b>of music. Sadly, due to the strong Bollywood influence in India, the non-film categories are not given as much importance on television as a result of which many people still assume that the GIMAs are about Bollywood. As an indie musician you can submit your music in the Non-film category for consideration.<br />
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<b>What are the deadlines?</b><br />
The deadlines to submit your music change every year so keep an eye open on the GIMA website for <a href="http://www.gima.co.in/">http://www.gima.co.in/</a><br />
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<b>What are the categories for indie musicians?</b><br />
You can check out if you're eligible to submit your music for any of the categories below <a href="http://www.gima.co.in/cp-awards-categories.php">http://www.gima.co.in/cp-awards-categories.php</a><br />
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<b>What are the steps I need to take to submit my music to GIMA?</b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IQERD76154I/VqJw2wNFtXI/AAAAAAAAEUY/HEFxTFutycc/s1600/IMG_1563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IQERD76154I/VqJw2wNFtXI/AAAAAAAAEUY/HEFxTFutycc/s400/IMG_1563.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A star-studded night..the Indian equivalent of the Grammies</td></tr>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Log onto the GIMA website <a href="http://www.gima.co.in/" target="_blank">www.gima.co.in </a>and click on the 'Apply Here' link on the homepage.</li>
<li>You will be prompted to register and enter your details. The userid and password will be sent to you on your e-mail id.</li>
<li>Login to the GIMA page with the username and the password received in your e-mail.</li>
<li>Select Non-Film music category and select the categories ( one or multiple) you would like to nominate yourself for.</li>
<li>Once you are satisfied with your entries, proceed to submit the form. A page will be displayed with the categories you have nominated yourself for alongwith the entry fee per category.This year the fee is Rs. 600/- per category for Non-film music.</li>
<li>On submittion of the online form, you will receive a confirmation email from GIMA with details of what needs to be submitted to them to confirm your entry. Here's a summary of what you need to put together for your entry:</li>
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<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Print out of the completed Declaration Form ( The link to the form will be sent to your e-mail ID) </span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">2 CD's to be submitted per category ( Yes! You read that right). So 4 CD's in all if you submit for 2 categories, 6 CD's for 3 categories..etc</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">CDs/DVDs/Pendrive with video for Best Music Video Category – Non-Film</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Entry Fees via DD/Cheque in favour of ‘Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.’ Or Entry Fees via NEFT( bank details are specified in e-mail)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">In the case of digital releases, entrants must submit a proof of release - official letter stamped by the digital platform owner OR a print-out in case the release is on social media websites. Also, if you don't hold the IPR for your music you need to get an NOC from the holders of the intellectual property rights of music.</span></li>
</ul>
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</ul>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UihlP4lZP4k/VqJuEeVAeII/AAAAAAAAETU/bYN9vVu0mJk/s1600/IMG_20160119_180102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UihlP4lZP4k/VqJuEeVAeII/AAAAAAAAETU/bYN9vVu0mJk/s320/IMG_20160119_180102.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Labelled CD's for submittion in 2 categories</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nHmX23Bmh8s/VqJuEj18TOI/AAAAAAAAETY/lvQ2WqGVB1w/s1600/IMG_20160119_180245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nHmX23Bmh8s/VqJuEj18TOI/AAAAAAAAETY/lvQ2WqGVB1w/s320/IMG_20160119_180245.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Completed Declaration Form</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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You can either submit your entries in the Wizcraft office in Mumbai in Andheri personally or post them the material. You will receive a confirmation call from them once your entry has been validated successfully.</div>
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Nominations are announced in a month or so from submission and the awards are generally towards the beginning of the year. This year (2016) it will most likely be in March.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K7KayAKza2w/VqJw05m-92I/AAAAAAAAET4/BLuBNAAUtQk/s1600/IMG_1559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K7KayAKza2w/VqJw05m-92I/AAAAAAAAET4/BLuBNAAUtQk/s320/IMG_1559.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Now go submit your music... more power to you!:) All the best .</div>
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P.s. If you like this article I would really love for you to share it and subscribe to the blog for other informative posts. Lets all help and educate one another and build the indie scene in India together:)</div>
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Cheers!</div>
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Pragnya Wakhluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18233243348954161695noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8835232933199785358.post-87052922045578605112016-01-19T04:41:00.000-08:002016-01-22T06:06:50.295-08:00Burning Fire - A Song for Tibet <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">‘Twas
a windy day as we roamed the streets of Mcloedganj, a beautiful little town in
Himachal Pradesh. The air was laden with the fresh scent of pine trees and the
cool wind blew in our faces. Me and my oldest school friend Divya had decided
to go for a girl’s trip to explore Dharamsala & Mcloedganj.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">As
we made our way through the crowded by-lanes in the market, we saw plenty of
curio shops with “Free Tibet” signs outside. Prayer flags adorned every tree,
every shop entrance and every house, creating a very festive & colorful
atmosphere. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">We
spotted a quaint little organic café to our right and meandered in. I love the
relaxed pace of everything during holidays. Meandering ( I love the word!) is
something I am very fond of, given the hectic pace of my daily life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">As
Divya explored the handicrafts display in the café, I noticed a lady wearing a
traditional Tibetan dress sitting by herself with a cup of coffee .She was
chatting to the store owner in Tibetan while showing her some pictures on her
phone. The Tibetan language, with its high-pitched tones & intonations,
sounded almost like a bird song. Suddenly the Tibetan lady broke out into a
lovely folk song; her voice engulfing the room like waves of sound gently
brushing across the ocean sands. Enraptured, I knew I had to speak with her and
find out more about the tune.</span><br />
<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">“You have such a lovely voice”, I said. “I
am a musician from Delhi and would love to learn a Tibetan song from you”.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked at me and smiled kindly. I continued,
“Could you tell me the lyrics so I could write them down?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Surprised
at the unexpected attention, she looked around shyly at first, but after a bit
of egging on from my end, she obliged. As she narrated the words I wrote them
down on a paper napkin I borrowed from the lady at the counter, who looked
amused and delighted at the same time. She taught me the song line by line and
we sang it together, the café echoing with the sound of our voices. We finished
to a round of smiles & cheers from the other customers at the café. We were
the stars of a mini concert in Mcloedganj, unbeknownst to all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I
was curious about the meaning of the song and asked her to explain it to me. She
told me it was </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TddxkRMwMd4/Vp3angc9eEI/AAAAAAAAESg/X4QTI3Bim9w/s1600/IMG_2178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TddxkRMwMd4/Vp3angc9eEI/AAAAAAAAESg/X4QTI3Bim9w/s400/IMG_2178.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">about a bird flying above the mountains looking for freedom. From
the tone of her voice I sensed that there was a hidden personal element to the
story. As we chatted, she opened up and shared a little more about herself and
her roots. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">She
was born in a beautiful little village in Tibet where she and her husband, a school
teacher lived an idyllic life. This was until China occupied Tibet and mayhem
ensued. Scores of monasteries were broken down. Strict oppressive laws were
brought into place. People that raised their voices mysteriously disappeared.
Musicians that sang about injustice were jailed. In desperation, monks started
self-immolating to bring attention to the cause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>India opened her arms to hundreds of
Tibetans, led by his holiness, the Dalai Lama that took asylum in Dharamsala. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">”A
lot of people tried to flee Tibet during this time” she said. “Those who were
fortunate escaped, but many didn’t. I managed to escape to India with my
children but my husband was not allowed to leave.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">She
rummaged in her purse and pulled out a photo concealed in plastic for protection.
Two handsome young men looked at me forlornly from the picture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“These
are my boys”, she said with pride. “One is 19 and the other is 17. We live in
Bangalore, where I work in a healing center.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And your husband? When did you last see him?”
I asked almost dreading the answer. With a faraway look in her eyes she said “I
haven’t seen him in seventeen years”. SEVENTEEN years!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“I
speak with him when I can on the phone but most of the times I can’t reach him
and don’t know if he’s ok. When I miss him a lot, I sing these songs to
remember him and our times together. I don’t know when I’ll see him again but I
pray that someday I will. Pray for me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Something
about her story struck an emotional chord in my heart and I couldn’t hold back
my tears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Could I give you a hug?” I asked. She gave me
an emotional nod as we hugged and sobbed in each others arms. Not saying
anything, but understanding everything. Two strangers, now friends; bound by a
story of love, loss and a song.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">We
sang the song together again, one last time in unison. This time with a silent
prayer & the conviction that one day the bird would indeed fly to freedom
and be re-united with the sky.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q3aRaFDxS0k/Vp3anpvCEmI/AAAAAAAAESc/tahu4FEeRIw/s1600/IMG_2179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q3aRaFDxS0k/Vp3anpvCEmI/AAAAAAAAESc/tahu4FEeRIw/s400/IMG_2179.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of us with the Tibetan lady at Rogpa Cafe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">P.S This story and that of whats been happening in Tibet inspired me to write "Burning Fire" ..a song I'll be releasing in Feb 2016. Divya and me went back to Dharamshala and shot the video for this song..Stay tuned for updates.</span><br />
<span style="color: #500050; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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Pragnya Wakhluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18233243348954161695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8835232933199785358.post-75716288049855694762015-12-31T00:35:00.000-08:002015-12-31T00:35:00.602-08:00International Hits of 2015 for your New Year Playlist<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: left;">It’s the end of the year and everyone’s making plans for the perfect party to bring in the New year. But what’s a good party without some good music ? I picked out some International hits of 2015 along with my own new party release , that are sure to pack a punch at your party. </span></div>
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<b style="font-size: 12.8px;">1><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b style="font-size: 12.8px;">Lean On – Major Lazer</b></div>
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This groovy song by Major Lazer with an Indian themed music video had everyone from India to the USA dancing non stop. You’ve probably heard this song played at least once at every club , every party and karaoke nights you’ve been to. Well..time to hear it one last time before the year ends!</div>
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<b>2><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b>Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars</b></div>
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Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars weave their magic in this funky ,upbeat song, that also grabbed the MTV Video Music award for Best Male Video. If this doesn’t get you grooving , nothing will!</div>
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<b>3><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b>Honey I’m Good- Andy Grammar</b></div>
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Every playlist has to have a feel good song and this one fits the bill perfectly. It’s just a really “Happy sounding” song..and “happy” is a good thing to be when you’re partying with your friends and celebrating the year gone by.</div>
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<b>4><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b>All About that Bass- Meghan Trainor</b></div>
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Megan Trainor’s song about appreciating yourself the way you are struck the right chord with audiences this year. Check it out yourself !</div>
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<b>5><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b>Maroon 5 – Sugar</b></div>
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Maroon 5 won peoples hearts with their surprise performances at weddings this year (that was until we found out it was all staged for the music video:P). Nevetheless..good song by the band.</div>
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<b style="font-size: 12.8px;">6> I Let Go (Party Mix) - Pragnya Wakhlu</b></div>
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Dropping a new single today to end the year with a bang! This one's a one of a kind disco-dubstep track. Presenting to you the exclusive lyrics video of "I Let Go ( Party Mix) ". Woo-Hoo!</div>
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<b>7> </b><b>See You Again – Wiz Khalifa. Ft Charlie Pruth</b></div>
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At the end of the party bid your friends adieu with the hit track from the movie 'Fast and Furious 7'.Believe me they will want to see you again in 2016<span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></div>
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So here's raising a toast to you and a wonderfully musical year ahead. <span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Happy new Year!</span></div>
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Whats on your playlist for New years? Let me know comments below.</div>
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Pragnya Wakhluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18233243348954161695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8835232933199785358.post-7461771377912862442015-11-14T22:26:00.003-08:002015-11-14T22:29:12.300-08:00Don't give up..The best is yet to come<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Unless your born into a musicians family, becoming an artist is almost always a conscious choice..a choice a person makes on their own...not dictated by others opinions but fuelled by sheer passion.<br />
<div>
If you're an artist, it's great that you made that choice for yourself. But as you live your life you'll realise, it's often hard up to stand up for your own choices.When money is running dry and success seems miles away and people ask you questions like "So what do you actually do?" " Whats your real job?" "What do you do all day?" "What do you really want to do with your life?"</div>
<div>
Yes..difficult questions to answer..but don't let them fluster you. There are many people that are simply unaware of what it takes to be an artist and ask out of ignorance, not necessarily to put you down. Many people that ask you , probably secretly envy you for the courageous step you have taken; something that they might not take the risk of doing for fear of stepping out of their comfort zone.</div>
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You are brave to have made this choice.</div>
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Yes, there will be times when you question whether all the effort and hard work is worth it..whether you should've listened to your parents after all and just taken up that cushy job where at least you're assured a decent salary.There will be times when you'll doubt yourself..there will be times when you will cry .. there will be many times when you will fail.</div>
<div>
What should you do in these times?</div>
<div>
Beleive..Have faith..unshakeable faith in yourself and your abilities. It is your own faith that will drive you forward..no-one elses. </div>
<div>
Use criticism as fuel to drive you to do better, work harder.</div>
<div>
Define your goals..Keep them in front of your eyes each day..and repeat them to yourself.</div>
<div>
Close your eyes and imagine you're already where you want to be and feel those feelings of sheer happiness, elation and joy. Work out of happiness..not for happiness.Don't let failures make you a cynic.</div>
<div>
I've been working as an artist for 7 years and started tasting success only 2 years ago. I still have a long long way to go to make a mark..lots of more to work to do to improve my skill, reach greater heights. Like any other career , it does take time..Be patient.</div>
<div>
Grammy winning artist Ricky Kej said something really valid in my interview with him.<i>"Don't let creativity be an excuse for laziness"</i>. Many artists think that being an musician means you just play a few gigs and a bit of practice and the rest will come to you. Wrong. You need to practice everyday, meet people, create opportunities, keep your ears open for whats happening on the circuit, record , release, market..Whew!Yes it's a full time job.</div>
<div>
If you're not where you are in your career just yet..hold on. Maybe someone denied you a gig, but there are 10 others that won't , you just need to find these people.They may be in other cities..think big, expand your boundaries. This is a country of more than a billion people with varied musical tastes.Someone ,somewhere WILL like your music and will give you a chance to play.</div>
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<b>Don't give up just yet..because the best is yet to come!</b></div>
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Pragnya Wakhluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18233243348954161695noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8835232933199785358.post-80721925156459875382015-10-27T06:15:00.001-07:002015-10-27T06:15:23.399-07:005 Points that will help you and your band decide whether or not to do a Free Gig<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Everyday independent bands and artists like you and me come
across venue programmers and festival organizers that try to get you to do a free
gig for them so they can “promote you”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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What they actually mean by <i>“We will promote you “</i> is<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>“We have no cash and we want you to play for
free in exchange for a facebook event that we will create (to promote you of
course!)”.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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I know a lot of bands are eager to showcase their talent on
any stage that they can get; but before you accept a free gig here are a five
points to consider that will help you evaluate if a free gig’s worth doing. Read on..<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><b>1.</b> </span><b style="text-indent: -18pt;">Evaluate
if the target audience at the offered gig is a match to your bands music</b></div>
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Who is the target audience that will be
present at the gig? Are they the kind of audiences that listen to or will be
interested in listening to the genre of music your band is creating?<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you are asked to play a free gig slot at
a prestigious music festival where the audience has come specifically to listen
to and discover new music then maybe it might make sense to do the free gig if
you’re a beginner band. However, if it’s the launch of a new Indian family
restaurant and your band plays metal ..then maybe the audience and venue would
not be a right fit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Knowing the audience that will want to
listen to and buy your music is a crucial pre-requisite.</div>
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<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></b></div>
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<b style="text-indent: -18pt;">2. Clarify
what the venue/organizer is offering in return for your performance</b></div>
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Most venues will say that they will
“promote you” and bands often make the mistake of not clarifying what this
“promotion” will entail. You need to ask the venue/organizer prior to the gig what
exactly they will do in terms of promotion and insist on terms that both of you
agree to.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Some venues have tie-ups with newspapers
and you can get the band some newspaper coverage in lieu of the gig or you
could strike a deal with the venue that you would do one free gig but if the
patrons enjoy it then the next one needs to be paid for.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Check with the venue how they are promoting
the show on radio ,social media and whether they are submitting it to gig
listings in the city .<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3. Identify what is the goal of the
gig<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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What do you want to achieve at the end of
the performance? Some of the goals could be:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Introducing new audiences to our music<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Getting noticed by the venue/potential venues
for future gigs<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Making money<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Making a live band video<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example,
if your goal is to make a decent live video for your band’s you-tube
channel(which currently has no live videos of the band) then maybe your
priority would be to accept to the free gig . If your band is more seasoned ,
then ask your band if there are any other goals that can be met by doing this
free gig (e.g. the possibility of being heard by a festival organizer or other
specific promoters that might create more gig opportunities) and whether it’s
worth your effort and time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">4. Check the venues
policy for other music acts<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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There are venues that try to take younger bands for a ride
by telling them they don’t pay any bands that play there because they are the hip
new place in town and bands are lucky to be given a chance to play there. Before
you get blown away by their generosity(!), check with your other friends and
contacts on the music circuit about whether they pay other acts and what the venue
policy for bands is.If you find a discrepancy you need to talk to the venue
about the same. Stand your ground.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">5. Is the gig for
a cause you feel passionately about?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Sometimes there are fund-raisers for causes that are close
to your heart. For example, when there were floods in Kashmir<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>last year , the band Parikrama organized a
fund-raising concert where they invited me and many artists(Rabbi, Indian Ocean,
Advaita etc) that played free of cost to raise money for flood victims and
their families. Sometimes you want to just play for the greater good and money
comes secondary. Remember though, that the rest of your band might not feel so
passionately about causes that resonate with you. Checking with your band
members before accepting a free gig of this nature is very important.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Remember to ask the venue to provide the band and the band
members F&B post your performance. That’s the least they can do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I hope this article helped clear a few dilemmas surrounding
whether it’s worth your time doing a free gig!:)<o:p></o:p></div>
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What are some of your bands reasons for doing/not doing a
free gig? Write them in the comments below.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Pragnya Wakhluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18233243348954161695noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8835232933199785358.post-51297355698821321532015-09-28T13:01:00.001-07:002015-09-28T13:01:47.253-07:00Free Hugs: The story behind what inspired my song<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="center" class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%; text-align: left;">In mid 2007, my work with an I.T. firm took me to the city of
Seattle, USA.This is a city that has been home to some of the greatest music
acts the world has ever known. From bands like Nirvana that introduced the
world to grunge music to alternative acts like Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and more
recently Macklemore
& Ryan Lewis</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%; text-align: left;">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%; text-align: left;">Seattle is a city that has inspired
many a musician. Here I was, a fledgling singer, wide-eyed and excited,
scouring the city for my next musical inspiration. I had chosen to live in the
city and not in the suburbs like most of my other Indian co-workers, because I
felt the city was more alive</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%; text-align: left;">…</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%; text-align: left;"> with street performers at every corner, a buzzing nightlife
and vibrant markets.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">One evening as I was walking home after work, I noticed an
old man sitting by himself. Bright balloons and a teddy bear, surrounded him
and he held a cardboard sign. I squinted and read the colourful letters
aloud<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Free Hugs.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">” ‘</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Free Hugs</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">? How does that work? Intrigued, I
went up to the old man and initiated a conversation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Hi there! What</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">s
</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">‘</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Free Hugs</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">? What are you doing this for?</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">” </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%;">“ </span><span lang="DA" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%;">Hello young lady!
I give </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%;">free hugs to
whoever wants one. I</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%;">m just an old man who wants to spread
a little love and sunshine </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%;">in</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.4px;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%;">this world. The world is a dark
place, it needs more people that care</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%;">…</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%;"> I come here everyday at this time.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%;">”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">That</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">s
such a beautiful thing to do! How long have you been doing this?</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">”</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Oh for many years now! After my
children left, I</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">ve led a lonely life. I know there
are a lot of other lonely people in the world as well who could use a hug.
Sometimes people have had a bad day and there</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">s
no one to go to. It</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">s the least I can do to help people
break the walls that surround them and reach out to one another.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">”</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">And you don</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">t
get paid for this I guess?</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">”</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Only in smiles,</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">” </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">he said with a toothy grin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MTTuMF2-75A/VgmaTT87CBI/AAAAAAAAEM0/_rMBLx7nzVg/s1600/IMG_1070%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MTTuMF2-75A/VgmaTT87CBI/AAAAAAAAEM0/_rMBLx7nzVg/s400/IMG_1070%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">With a smile, I extended my arms out for a hug. It was a
nice, warm friendly hug in the middle of a crowded street. I felt pure joy at being
a part of this simple act of kindness from a </span><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">stranger. In this world where money
and time are</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"> a priority, here was someone whose
only agenda was to spread sunshine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">There was a Starbucks nearby and I hopped over to buy both of
us a coffee. The least I could do on that cold day was warm the hands of the
man who </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">had spent most of his life warming so
many hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%;"> </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">I
was so inspired by this man and his story, that I wrote a blues song,</span><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 6;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"> “</span></span><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 6;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Free Hugs</span></span><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 6;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">”</span></span><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 6;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"> that made it to my debut
album. Here</span></span><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 6;"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></span><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 6;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">s what it went like</span></span><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 6;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">…</span></span><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 6;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 120%;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/pragnya-wakhlu/free-hugs-22nd-nov?in=pragnya-wakhlu/sets/journey-to-the-sun">https://soundcloud.com/pragnya-wakhlu/free-hugs-22nd-nov?in=pragnya-wakhlu/sets/journey-to-the-sun</a></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20150106T1319; mso-comment-reference: _7;"><o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
<span style="mso-comment-continuation: 7;">Free Hugs</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Alone I stand on the
corner street,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Expressionless
passing eyes,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
I bare my heart and
soul to you,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
I'm wearing no disguise..no!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Won't ask you any
questions,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Won't offer you no
advice,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
My heart is open to
anyone,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
This is real, no
device..no device.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Free hugs, nothing
in return<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">…</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
You may be brown,
black or white<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">…</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Where it's dark and
some hearts burn,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Let<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>s all spread a little light.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Did your old man
leave you?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
A broken heart to
mend?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Do you need a
shoulder to cry on ?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Or the comfort of a
friend?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
I ask not where you
come from,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
I ask not where you
go,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
The glimmer of
sadness in your eyes,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Speaks all there is
to know<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">…</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Free hugs, nothing
in return<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">…</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
You may be brown,
black or white<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">…</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Where it's dark and
some hearts burn,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Let<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>s all spread a little light.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
The frowns turn
upside down,<o:p></o:p></div>
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The teardrops
disappear,<o:p></o:p></div>
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As your hand reaches
out for mine,<o:p></o:p></div>
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The dark skies start
to clear.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our hearts heal
together,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Shadows creep away,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Heaven's arms are
open,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
The dark lord starts
to fray...<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Free hugs, nothing
in return<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">…</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
You may be brown,
black or white<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">…</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Where it's dark and
some hearts burn,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%; margin-left: 39.25pt;">
Let<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>s all spread a little light.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">The story didn</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">t end there. On returning to India a
year later, some
friends and I</span><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">organised a Free Hugs campaign in Pune,
the city I lived in at that point. This was post the Mumbai terror attacks and it
was our way of passing forward the message of love and hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ns0NB6e8SEQ/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ns0NB6e8SEQ?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">It</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">s been over 5 years since I met the
old man from Seattle and yet, every time I sing my song </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Free Hugs</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">” </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">on stage, I see his face with that toothy grin, holding the
old cardboard sign endearingly asking,</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"> “ </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">A free hug for you today sir?</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">**Note: Article first written for and published by <a href="http://www.happy-tripping.com/" target="_blank">Happy Tripping</a> ( I am a guest writer with them). Read the article on the Happy tripping website <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://blog.happy-tripping.com/2015/01/08/free-hugs-from-seattle-to-india/" target="_blank">here</a> </span></span></div>
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Pragnya Wakhluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18233243348954161695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8835232933199785358.post-30166870559295383572015-09-16T06:12:00.000-07:002015-09-16T06:13:19.462-07:00Visiting Kurt Cobains house in Seattle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When I lived in Seattle in 2007, one of the things I always wanted to do was visit the home of Nirvana frontman, Kurt Cobain. I never managed to do it and it was something that has always remained on my bucket list. Earlier this year I got an opportunity to return to Seattle to perform; I knew the time had finally come to scratch this item off the list!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tIK2wltG3EM/VflVqa2JXGI/AAAAAAAAEMM/A0QEjM78tbA/s1600/Kurt_FAmily_pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Kurt Cobain and his family" border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tIK2wltG3EM/VflVqa2JXGI/AAAAAAAAEMM/A0QEjM78tbA/s320/Kurt_FAmily_pic.jpg" title="Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kurt, Courtney & Frances-Bean Cobain</td></tr>
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Kurt Cobain's last home is in Lake Washington Boulevard in Seattle. A pretty posh area, that also houses the likes of Bill Gates and other I.T. biggies. The beautiful home has now been sold to another Seattle family that has built really high gates to ward off prying eyes (understandably so as the house always has swarms of Nirvana fans coming to pay homage).</div>
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My sister and me took the bus from Downtown Seattle to Lake Washington boulevard to pay our respects. <span style="text-align: left;">There is a little park next to his house, Viretta park with a bench dedicated to Kurt. Words from his songs and messages scrawled in lipstick & coloured pens ran all over the bench . Flowers, now withered, left behind by a heartbroken fan stared at me poetically.</span></div>
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I parked myself on the bench for a while..imagining him sitting there writing songs that would go on to be remembered long after he was gone. I felt a mix of inspiration, sadness and gratefulness wash over me. It's sad how he died..too young..The pressures of fame and your inner demons can make you do crazy things you're no longer alive to regret.</div>
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I wondered as I sat there..if someday maybe my songs would be remembered by people I didn't know. If I could write songs that could move people..that would become legendary..the way Nirvana and their music was..Just imagining that , sitting there felt good.</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">We shot a little video (below) to give you a little tour of his house and the park next door. Hope you enjoy it. Ending with words that are now synonymous with his name..</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><i> <b>"It's better to burn out than to fade away"- Kurt Cobain</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"> R.I.P Kurt. Thank you for the music.</span></div>
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Pragnya Wakhluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18233243348954161695noreply@blogger.com1Lake Washington Boulevard, Seattle, WA, USA47.6094994 -122.2829282000000147.588089399999994 -122.32326870000001 47.6309094 -122.24258770000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8835232933199785358.post-89945488341683756652015-07-26T07:49:00.000-07:002015-07-31T23:21:17.346-07:00How a House Concert Works & my U.S. House Concert Experiences<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W8iF9bd5TEk/VbsJFW8C1HI/AAAAAAAAEF0/I70GzFdGXUU/s1600/IMG_20150517_134730.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W8iF9bd5TEk/VbsJFW8C1HI/AAAAAAAAEF0/I70GzFdGXUU/s320/IMG_20150517_134730.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging out the the gang post the SFO house concert</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eeYyl_5pH6o/VbsJMBWOZ1I/AAAAAAAAEF8/p3JK29QE9WY/s1600/IMG_20150517_164138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="text-align: left;">One of the coolest and largely untapped options for bands (and singer-songwriters in particular) are house concerts. This is mainly a concept from the West and barring a few sporadic concerts in the country, the concept still hasn't quite gained as much popularity in India. What I like best about house concerts is it's D-I-Y approach. As an artist if you want your music to reach out to people in new cities, you don't need to rely on venues for getting a gig..set it up yourself and just go play! </span><b style="text-align: left;">Read on to learn more house concerts and how to set up your own..</b><br />
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What's a house concert?</h3>
A house concert - (the name is quite self explanatory really) is a concert in someone's house. The "someone" could be a friend/an acquaintance or just a fan that loves your music.<br />
At these concerts the people that attend, come exclusively to listen to you. It provides a more intimate setting for your music. I would highly recommend this setting for singer-songwriters that like a conversational format to their performance and whose sound setup is simple.<br />
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How does it work?</h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matthew and Sam buying CD's at the SFO house concert</td></tr>
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Depending on your host's level of comfort, house concerts could be <b>by invitation only to a closed group of select friends</b>( yours and the host's) or<b> open to anyone that would like to attend</b>.<br />
Sound and gear is generally brought by the artist or friends (or hired if you don't have a choice). Light snacks and refreshments are provided by the host/artist or you could have a potluck format where everyone can bring food to share after the concert and have your own after-party. Entry to these concerts is mostly free and concerts are promoted on social media groups and by e-mail. At these concerts, t<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px;">he artist typically makes money from the sale of CD’s and merchandise and donations from the audiences. </span><br />
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My U.S. house concert experiences in pictures </h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eeYyl_5pH6o/VbsJMBWOZ1I/AAAAAAAAEF8/p3JK29QE9WY/s1600/IMG_20150517_164138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eeYyl_5pH6o/VbsJMBWOZ1I/AAAAAAAAEF8/p3JK29QE9WY/s320/IMG_20150517_164138.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the house concert at aunt Meera's(in green jacket) </td></tr>
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On my US. Tour this summer I experienced both types of house concerts . The first one was a concert cum pool party at my aunt <b>Meera Kaul's</b> beautiful home in Menlo Park, California .We invited a closed guest list of 70 people, her friends, family & my fans and friends in California.<br />
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We had a stage by the pool, a minimal sound setup and drinks and snacks for the guests. A CD corner and guest book was setup on the side. We even had a little stall with a few kids selling lemonade and energy bars to raise funds for Nepal. Thanks Meera and everyone that came!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gCaeuJjAdPY/VbuvARM0PPI/AAAAAAAAEGc/YmoQYxw29P8/s1600/11356332_10155630286135385_941583324_n%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gCaeuJjAdPY/VbuvARM0PPI/AAAAAAAAEGc/YmoQYxw29P8/s320/11356332_10155630286135385_941583324_n%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Performing my set at the stage near the pool</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b5FHv2WuVmw/VbsItm0A02I/AAAAAAAAEFs/PZnAzJt4QLI/s1600/IMG_20150517_164254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b5FHv2WuVmw/VbsItm0A02I/AAAAAAAAEFs/PZnAzJt4QLI/s320/IMG_20150517_164254.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with Sonia Rao, an L.A. based artist </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WNiAbXHDV3g/VbvHdY0IV_I/AAAAAAAAEIY/f_7JHCnClK4/s1600/IMG_20150517_171008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WNiAbXHDV3g/VbvHdY0IV_I/AAAAAAAAEIY/f_7JHCnClK4/s200/IMG_20150517_171008.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casper the doggie welcoming guests</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-COAxZ5VFxtM/VbvFlA3Tc2I/AAAAAAAAEH8/d1mQyLweqQc/s1600/IMG_20150517_144826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-COAxZ5VFxtM/VbvFlA3Tc2I/AAAAAAAAEH8/d1mQyLweqQc/s320/IMG_20150517_144826.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old friends and new</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7kXf1bWVWRs/VbvGqCBlyjI/AAAAAAAAEIQ/jLT2qsyUdOE/s1600/IMG_20150517_150932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7kXf1bWVWRs/VbvGqCBlyjI/AAAAAAAAEIQ/jLT2qsyUdOE/s320/IMG_20150517_150932.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arjun and Mythili</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-moUfSZruB_s/VbvEXECEExI/AAAAAAAAEHw/o5vOykmsC4E/s1600/IMG_20150517_143434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-moUfSZruB_s/VbvEXECEExI/AAAAAAAAEHw/o5vOykmsC4E/s320/IMG_20150517_143434.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abhishek and his beautiful family</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JEUGkw0Dcyc/VbvAws8JjnI/AAAAAAAAEG4/FhFNEFOi1qg/s1600/IMG_20150514_173554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JEUGkw0Dcyc/VbvAws8JjnI/AAAAAAAAEG4/FhFNEFOi1qg/s320/IMG_20150514_173554.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meera and me with Casper</td></tr>
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My next house concert was in Portland, Oregon. This was an example of a house concert where I didn't know my host earlier but reached out to them via the internet.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OZ0OfMpHsFc/VbTt-eyqXiI/AAAAAAAAECI/qTnSy9B1n5M/s1600/DSC04540.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OZ0OfMpHsFc/VbTt-eyqXiI/AAAAAAAAECI/qTnSy9B1n5M/s400/DSC04540.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Group hug- Deva, Bruce and Mary-Ann</td></tr>
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I was introduced to my host <b>Deva Gordon</b> (leftmost in the picture) by another lovely generous Portlandier I reached out to online, <b>Bruce Bartlett</b>(center). I hosted a workshop at Bruce's earlier in May and he suggested we do the concert at his friend <b>Deva's</b> home. He asked Deva and she warmly agreed to be host for the evening. So here we were, doing my first house concert in Portland, U.S.A!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yRqNB7GEkr0/VbTqQTBooUI/AAAAAAAAEAk/KQqdj42azIE/s1600/DSC04510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yRqNB7GEkr0/VbTqQTBooUI/AAAAAAAAEAk/KQqdj42azIE/s400/DSC04510.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deva's lavender home</td></tr>
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The minute I set my eyes on Deva's home, I fell in love with it. I mean seriously..a lavender home with pretty lights and flowers outside..How much cuter can it get really! If a house reflects the people who live in it then I would say that Deva's home described her perfectly. She was incredibly warm and nice.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j1g7zHTxYmc/VbTpGgi-yDI/AAAAAAAAEAY/PxxXiGMpNNg/s1600/DSC04509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j1g7zHTxYmc/VbTpGgi-yDI/AAAAAAAAEAY/PxxXiGMpNNg/s320/DSC04509.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Setting up the CD display and guest book</td></tr>
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Bruce got an amplifier, microphone stand, mics and mixer from his home.We set up quickly and finished soundcheck. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R-Y6c8hu7eU/VbTrz4XBq3I/AAAAAAAAEBQ/7jcsJ2RmSWI/s1600/DSC04520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R-Y6c8hu7eU/VbTrz4XBq3I/AAAAAAAAEBQ/7jcsJ2RmSWI/s320/DSC04520.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soundchecking - Processor run through</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b8Jy4zozpyc/VbTpFD6KjNI/AAAAAAAAEAQ/xq6u3IEz54I/s1600/DSC04507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b8Jy4zozpyc/VbTpFD6KjNI/AAAAAAAAEAQ/xq6u3IEz54I/s320/DSC04507.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Setting up the stage</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4NiinWYwyqY/VbTrbYJGR8I/AAAAAAAAEBA/vVh_RoKCfG8/s1600/DSC04517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4NiinWYwyqY/VbTrbYJGR8I/AAAAAAAAEBA/vVh_RoKCfG8/s400/DSC04517.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lets get this show started</td></tr>
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Pretty soon the crowd trickled in, <span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px;">and made themselves comfortable at the little parlour in the back.</span><br />
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We had asked the guests to get some food to share with the others. My sister got olives, some cheese and orange juice and Deva made some chia and coconut pudding .<br />
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I introduced myself and started playing<br />
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We took a break after the first set to interact with the guests and get some food into our hungry bellies!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Free hugs!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After eating Deva's yummy chia pudding</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing my second set</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Albert and his friend</td></tr>
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After the quick break, I played my second set and taught the audience the words of a few songs so they could sing along. I love getting people to sing along with me:)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanking everyone that came and posing for group pictures post the gig</td></tr>
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Some of the guests bought CD's and others made donations. It was really encouraging to see music from across the shores being appreciated in America as well.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sister and me</td></tr>
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I also happen to have the best sister in the world who took all these pictures & drove me to the concert. Thank you sis!<br />
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I'll be back next year USA.<br />
Thank you for having me. It's been an honour.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks for coming folks </td></tr>
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All in all house concerts are definitely something you should try as an independent artist. Get started today! Good luck and let me know how your concert's went in the comments section below.<br />
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Pragnya Wakhluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18233243348954161695noreply@blogger.com6Portland, OR, USA45.5230622 -122.6764815999999945.167186199999996 -123.32192859999999 45.8789382 -122.03103459999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8835232933199785358.post-32329647998843549382015-06-19T07:12:00.003-07:002015-06-19T09:29:54.060-07:00Grammy winning Indian artist Ricky Kej shares his views on the indie scene<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One of my life goals is to win a Grammy for my country (someday!) , so you can imagine my excitement when I read about India's big win at the 57th Grammy awards by an indie artist <i>.<b>"Winds of Samsara"</b></i> by Bangalore based indie composer <b>Ricky Kej</b> and South African flautist <b>Wouter Kellerman</b> won the Grammy award for the '<b>Best New Age Album</b> '. For someone who's not an Indian classical musician and is not working in Bollywood to have achieved this feat is HUGE! I had to talk to this guy ! I managed to get a phone interview with Ricky to get his insights and advice to other indie musicians on the scene. We talked about the indie scene, copyrighting music, how Bollywood is dominating the Indian scene, distributing music and more.Read on...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ricky Kej and Wouter Kellerman -Grammy winners for Best New Age Album "Winds of Samsara" </td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me:</span> </b>Congratulations on your win Ricky! It's a proud moment for India.What were some memorable moments at the Grammies?Any behind the scenes stuff you'd like to share?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky:</span> </b>Thank you. It was very memorable and exciting as you can imagine. The first person who congratulated me backstage was Hans Zimmer.There were a lot of famous people Katy Perry, Sam Smith, Beyonce & Jay-Z that I saw in the audience. You can check out the Grammy acceptance speech on YouTube(below).<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; text-align: center;"> Ricky Kej and Wouter Kellerman - Grammy acceptance speech and reaction</span><br />
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<b style="color: orange;">Me: </b>That's Fantastic!<b style="color: orange;"> </b>So tell us a little about how you started your music career and some highlights along the way..<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky:</span> </b>I would be a part of bands in college . After college I started making jingles for commercials and for the radio. I realised when I started creating my own music that to keep it undiluted (from Bollywood influences) I needed to look for audiences outside India. My music is predominantly Indian and I work with musicians here but my audiences are outside India.I travelled extensively to foreign countries to find my audiences. I would attend music conferences, music concerts, meet other musicians, record labels, distributors.I would find artists that have a similar sound to mine and see how to reach out to their audiences. The last 7-8 years I have found lot of success doing that.<br />
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<span style="color: orange; font-weight: bold;">Me: </span>So how did you meet your collaborator Wouter ?Was it on one of your travels?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dream Team- Ricky and Wouter</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky:</span> </b>I had seen Wouter performing at the FIFA closing ceremony in Africa where he played with Shakira. I was a big fan of his work. He had also heard my album "Mesmerising Flute" before and liked my work. We met in L.A. and discussed working together. I had written a song about Gandhi and he had written about Mandela. We worked on each others songs , he adding flute parts to my song 'The Mahatma' and I added Indian parts to his music and we created "Winds of Samsara" together.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me:</span></b> So Winds of Samsara was an independent album.How did you release worldwide? Was there any indie label involved?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky: </span></b>The album was an Indian release but it was distributed all over the world. We had separate distributors in America ,Europe , India & Australia . Although it's an indie release , we tied up with a lot of partners and distributors from across the world. We were on Billboard for the top 12 weeks and one of the highest selling New Age Albums in America .We were also the highest played album on radio in America ( #1 on world radio charts for a month)<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me:</span></b> Thats quite an achievement. So how do you get your songs to play on radios abroad? Do you have to actively promote it or does it get picked up by the radios?<br />
<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">Ricky: </span>We contacted radio stations with our CD's directly and they liked the music and played it. It's all about people listening to it on the radio, liking it and purchasing it. At the end of the day, without having a good album and music nothing can come out of only marketing.We put our hearts and souls into our music, spent two years making it , travelled all over the world & collaborated with more than 120 musicians on the album. It was a very uncompromised approach to making music as an art.We made sure that it was exactly the vision we had in mind. Since it was an independent album you're not answerable to anybody but yourself.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me:</span></b> You mentioned earlier that the album was made was according to your vision. What was that vision ?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky:</span></b> I wanted to make music from the heart. 99% of the music that sells in India is music for Bollywood. It's almost like an assembly line way of producing music where the music director describes what he wants ,the lyrics writer comes in and then the programmer, playback singer etc add their parts. It's not any one persons vision. If it's not music that comes from the heart it can be very popular music but it is also music that is forgotten easily. Ultimately even though Bollywood music is highly downloaded , the music caters to only the Indian diaspora abroad and is unable to cater to the Western audience.There are very few Indians who break that cultural barrier. Pt. Ravi Shankar for example decided he doesn't want to live in India anymore and Anoushka Shankar who reached out to audiences who are non-Indian in origin. She doesn't live here too because anything non-Bollywood doesn't work in India..for many reasons..the major reason being radio and television will not play her music even though she has an audience here.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me: </span></b>Don't you think however that the Indie scene is changing in our country, with channels such as MTV Indies and VH1 airing indie songs and platforms such as OKlisten and ArtistsAloud distributing independent music?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky:</span></b> I disagree. The scene is getting worse. In the early 2000's a lot of Indie musicians were coming out like Adnan Sami, Shaan and Agnee and their videos would play on TV. Now you hardly see anybody and if you do people ask "Who is this person"?<br />
Right now the industry here has reached a stage where if you're a composer the first question that somebody asks you is "Which films have you composed for ?" and if you're a singer then it's "Which films have you sung playback for?" Everything is associated with the film industry.We have music awards and 90% of them are film awards. People want to see Bollywood celebrities in the audience else T.V. channels don't pick up shows for airtime. Awards ceremonies in the USA(Grammy) Canada(JUNO),South Africa (SAWA) and others are based entirely on the music.There are only a sprinkling of movie stars in the audience. A country like America ..their whole history is chronicled through music .When Adele and Sam Smith broke up with their boyfriends they wrote albums about it..these are real things that people connect with.<br />
I definitely didn't want to go the Bollywood route because if I make one song thats a hit I don't want people to associate that with who I am as a personality.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me:</span></b> You haven't composed for Bollywood but you have composed for a few Kannada films and released music with Universal. Did you have to compromise on your style of making music for any of these ventures?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky :</span></b> I released some albums with EMI . The head of EMI at the time Suresh, already liked my music a lot so he asked me to compose pieces that were based on the music I was already making . I made about 21-30 songs for them and they didn't request for any changes when I gave them the masters. They would only change the titles of some of the songs and the song order according to how they wanted to market it.That was ok with me as they are the experts in marketing and my music was untouched.All three Kannada films I did were with a very visionary director who I enjoyed working with and who let me retain my musical style.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me: </span></b>There's a big debate amongst independent musicians on whether to stay indie (given the resources we have at our disposal today) or associate with a label. What's been your experience with both?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky:</span> </b>It's very important to remain an independent musician nowadays. You have to own the rights to your own music. In the case of EMI, they gave me a production fee to create the album and a percentage of the sales. The EMI head had a vision to look outside Bollywood. I also did work for Universal in USA and so was not a newcomer. EMI contacted me because I was already established in the instrumental music industry<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>Me:</b> </span>Most of the music channels like Vh1 are playing pop and other mainstream stuff..Where do other genres like New Age ,Metal,Jazz etc get heard by consumers?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky:</span> </b>Consumers that are into other genres of music know exactly where to look for that kind of music. Be it Metal, Jazz, World music there are specific radio stations, cable networks and channels that will play these genres of music in America and the consumers will know where to find it. These are niche genres and consumers know that they won't find it on network television. In India we don't have these channels yet. The only option here is Itunes.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me:</span></b> Where can Indians discover music from niche genres such as yours to listen to? Online radios? Itunes channels?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky: </span></b>Social media is the best bet. In America, it's on radio. In India there are no dedicated radio stations that play anything other than film industry music, so discovery is almost impossible here.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me:</span></b> In India, many indie musicians are now looking at making music a full time career.What are some ways to make it a sustainable career choice?<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Ricky: </b> </span>If you're an indie musician it's important to have perseverance and patience. I think it's very important NOT to have a day job .If you do you're not being faithful to either of your professions . You'll never have enough time to do your music, you never have enough time to network.You need time to rehearse, meet other musicians and collaborate. Having a day job is a major handicap and your music career will never be successful.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me:</span></b> I think the main problem people have leaving their day jobs for music is assurance of a basic salary to meet living expenses..where will the money come from?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky:</span></b> There are sacrifices you have to make. It depends on how badly you want to make it in your career. There will be times when you will have no money at all. If you've not started a family yet, sometimes even that needs to be sacrificed.You have to see what is more important to you and what you are more driven about. Drive and discipline are extremely important for a musician. An engineer studies for 4 years and then gets a job ; a musician expects to start making money the next day! Thats not going to happen.You need to have a music education, start off with low paying gigs, move up the ladder,then as you get famous you make more money.<br />
At the end of the day a lot of people use creativity as an excuse for laziness.You have to be far more disciplined than you would ever be in a day job.<br />
I've been doing this for 16 years. I studied dentistry but decided to do music. Imagine if I had left after 4 years saying nothing is happening... I would have never won a Grammy.<br />
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<span style="color: orange; font-weight: bold;">Me: </span>A musicians life is full of highs and lows. What motivated you through life's lows?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky:</span></b> I would write music about it. I would use even those moments to keep making music.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me: </span></b>Some independent artists were approached by a music company in Mumbai to sell them their songs. What do you think about an artist selling their songs to other people (Bollywood/other composers)?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky: </span></b>You can make songs for other people but the intellectual property rights for those will always be yours. It's illegal for someone to pay you X amount of money for your songs and own the intellectual property rights.There is a law passed in India against that. You can sue the company if it specifies in the contract that they will own the IPR of the song.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me:</span></b> That's a very informative tip for a lot of indie musicians. How did you copyright your music to protect it?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky: </span></b>You don't need to copyright your music , you need to register your songs with IPRS in India ( <a href="http://www.iprs.org/cms/">http://www.iprs.org/cms/</a>). I registered my songs with an organization called BMI ( <a href="http://www.bmi.com/">http://www.bmi.com/</a>) in the US (for US citizens only). It's completely free of cost.Whenever people put it on Radio,TV, or use the song online BMI collects the money on the artists behalf. When I signed up with them , the very next day they were collecting money from the last 10 years for my music<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me:</span> </b>What are some ways more Indian musicians can get their music heard globally?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky:</span> </b>You have to travel to meet people, collaborators and other musicians in different countries.You also have to use social media. I may be completely wrong but it's next to impossible to make a living as an independent musician in India.You can live here and make your music here but you should get revenues from outside India. India is still not the best environment for an independent musician because sales are really dismal in India due to it's focus on Bollywood.Piracy is also very high here.If I'm speaking to someone about my album in a foreign country, they would preview it on Itunes and then buy it. Here people ask me "Could you share the Mp3's with me on my pendrive?" No one looks at music here as a commodity they have to pay for. Bollywood doesn't care about piracy because music for them is a means of marketing their movie; their profits come from ticket sales and not as much from music sales.As a result there is a culture around free content being available online for download . Ultimately this affects the income of independent artists as well.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me: </span></b>Should people even make physical albums anymore or just sell their music digitally?Are albums on their way out?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky: </span></b>Physical albums will always be important. It's a very easy way to purchase music if people are in a store or to give your music to a promoter.It's also something you can touch, feel and gift wrap as a present to someone. Digital is the future. As houses will become smaller, having a CD collection will be a hassle.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>Me: </b></span>Where do you think the music scene in India is headed?<br />
<b style="color: red;">Ricky: </b><b> </b>It's headed more towards the film industry. There will always be bursts of independent movements in India but the movie industry is here to stay.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me:</span></b> Whats your advice to independent musicians from India that would like to follow their passion ?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky: </span></b>Look outwards. They will have to make it big in other countries. India is not the place to be for independent music. If you want to be an independent musician here you will have to be a part of the movie industry. You have to be extremely perseverant, find mentors in the industry and truly believe in your music to succeed as an independent artist.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me:</span></b>What are your future plans?<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Ricky:</span> </b>I've received validation for my kind of music and I am going to continue to make it to whoever wants to listen to it..in India or abroad. If India wants to listen to it I would be thrilled because everybody wants recognition in their own country. I have a fan following in China, Austrailia and the USA so I'm happy to keep catering to them too.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Me:</span></b> Thank you Ricky for your insights and for inspiring a lot of indie musicians to dream big.<br />
<span style="color: red;">Ricky: </span>Thank you!<br />
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I hope this interview helped you with some insights into the music industry and the Indian music scene. If you have any questions do type them in the comments section below. We would be happy to answer them! Do share the article with any musician friends you know. Knowledge is power.<br />
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P.s. Oh and if you liked the blog could you follow it please :) Ok bye!<br />
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Pragnya Wakhluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18233243348954161695noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8835232933199785358.post-87879327783767031792015-03-25T23:17:00.003-07:002015-03-25T23:20:13.103-07:00The Manchester United Cup Song<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
What do you do when you're home alone with a take-out container before the Manchester United Liverpool match? Make a song of course! ;)<br />
This is a tribute song to my favourite football team Manchester United and all the Manchester United fans across the world. Don't miss the bloopers at the end of the video;)<br />
I re-wrote my own lyrics to Anna Kendrick's "The Cup song" as a tribute to my favourite team.<br />
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Sing along with the lyrics below:<br />
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We've got our ticket for the top of the league,<br />
Chelsea can be on their way,<br />
We've got a super team & we've got Van Haal's dream,<br />
We're gonna get him his first trophy what'd you say<br />
<br />
Chorus: We're going strong, we're going strong,<br />
The whole world is cheering on,<br />
We've got Adnan doing his best,<br />
Persie , Rooney and the rest,<br />
Hey!I can't name you all in this song<br />
<br />
We got the devil and an Angel by our side,<br />
He's the best buy of the season,<br />
We beat the Spurs 3-0, we're celebrating our heros,<br />
Soon the cup will be another reason..<br />
<br />
We're going strong, we're going strong,<br />
The whole world is cheering on,<br />
We've got Mata doing his best,<br />
Persie , Rooney and the rest,<br />
Hey!I can't name you all in this song<br />
<br />
We're going strong, we're going strong,<br />
The whole world is cheering on,<br />
We've got Falcao doing his best,<br />
Persie , Rooney and the rest,<br />
There ain't much that can go wrong..<br />
<br />
Enjoy the song and do post your comments on what you think of it.Cheerio!<br />
<br /></div>
Pragnya Wakhluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18233243348954161695noreply@blogger.com3India20.593684 78.962880000000041-8.5806465 37.654286000000042 49.7680145 120.27147400000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8835232933199785358.post-12468817716708527702015-03-22T08:13:00.003-07:002015-03-29T07:27:40.667-07:00The 6 Best Grammy 2015 Performances that you must watch <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: left;">The Grammies 2015 just happened! Yaay! The biggest musical
awards night that celebrates great talent across the globe. To summarize, Taylor
Swift didn’t win anything, Sam Smith ruled the Grammies with the most wins,
Kanye almost interrupted Becks “Album of the Year” win but luckily changed his mind , there were some awesome performances and some very socially relevant acceptance speeches.</span></div>
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We also had 2 winners from India..double Yaay! Ricky Kej (and
Wouter Kellerman) won Best New Age Album for “Winds of Samsara” and Neela
Vaswaani for “I am Malala” the audio book. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For those of you that missed watching, I’ve picked out my
favourite 6 performances of the night you must not miss! Read on.<o:p></o:p></div>
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opening act at the Grammies showed us that no matter how old you get some music
can never age! ACDC opened the night with an explosive performance of “Rock or
Bust” ,followed by their evergreen hit “Highway to Hell” that had Katy Perry
,Lady Gaga and others nodding along in sync with Angus Young’s guitar. What a
great start to the Grammies! I’m an ACDC fan and was singing along with wild
abandon as I watched them on TV. It’s so refreshing to listen to some good rock
music in recent times because bands aren’t really doing that kind of music
anymore. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re a fan of classic rock
like I am, you’ll love this. Check out ACDC’s performance above ..you’ll be
blown away.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ygmCLVm916k/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ygmCLVm916k?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: left; float: left;" width="320"></iframe> Many of us haven’t heard Lady
Gaga’s “real voice”..because of the heavily processed dance music that overpowers her vocals most of the time. I assure you that when you do get the opportunity to "really hear her sing", you’ll be pleasantly surprised. The lady has an amazing set of pipes! At the Grammies, she
sang “Cheek to Cheek” , a beautiful jazzy duet with Tony Bennett (which won them
a Grammy for the 'Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance') . Her voice was smoother than a glass of premium scotch. Before critics/haters start writing this off as
a one - off performance, she proved her mettle again at the Oscars with her
tribute to the evergreen Sound of Music soundtrack, that had even Julie Andrews
in tears. Lady Gaga, you never cease to amaze us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Watch the performance the crowd wouldn’t stop going “gaga” about !<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve never considered myself much
of a country music loving person but Miranda Lambert’s performance made me reevaluate
my opinion. I was glued to the screen till the very end of her performance.
Blake Shelton’s wife can sure hold her own on the stage..Her rendition of her song
“Little Red Wagon” was brilliant. It came as no surprise after that performance
that she took home 2 Grammies that night for Best Country album and Best
Country Song as Blake Shelton looked on with pride. Pretty interesting
stuff..Gotta start listening to some more country music.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s something very honest and innocent about Sam Smith. I liked what
he said in his Grammy acceptance speech ,” I was making terrible music when I
was trying to get people to listen to me..but it was only when I started being
true to myself that they finally heard”. When you’re true to
your art you create musical pieces that touch the soul. That is exactly what
Sam Smith did with his music flooring the Grammy jury, taking home the most coveted
Grammy’s of the night for Best new Artist, Song of the Year, Record of the
Year,Best Pop Vocal Album. His rendition of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“Stay with Me” with the legendary Mary J Blige was soulful and
honest..just like the man he appears to be.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sia (“Chandelier”)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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After years of writing hit songs for other singers ( Beyonce, Rihanna,
Britney & David Guetta to name a few ) the wonderfully talented Sia is finally getting her due. Unlike most attention seeking artists, Sia is somebody that shies away from the public eye..She prefers to let her music do the talking. </div>
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Kriestan Wig and Maddie Ziglar danced and emoted her song "Chandelier" on stage, while the singer herself faced a wall as she sang; her back turned to the audience.</div>
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An unusual but refreshing change.</div>
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I think Chandelier is one of Sia's best works..and technically a very challenging song to sing.</div>
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Listen to her Grammy performance here.</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a reason his last name is Legend. I
hold this man in such high regard. I wish I could be even half as good a
musician as John Legend. Not only does he write great songs, but his live
performances are incredibly spot on. Maybe it’s because “Glory” has such a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>personal significance to him and all that
Martin Luther King has fought for that helped him sing with such strong
emotion. The fight for equal rights still continues..You could feel the message
of hope , the strength of his words and the power of conviction <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as he sang. At the Oscars again, Legend had
the audience in tears, overwhelmed with emotion. Music can do that to you..Music
is a gift..and John Legend must’ve been a good kid because he’s really been
truly blessed with an amazing ability to inspire with his voice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I couldn't find a link to his Grammy performance so I've added a link to the song..It's worth a listen.<br />
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Pragnya Wakhluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18233243348954161695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8835232933199785358.post-1610562448298410932013-04-18T23:00:00.000-07:002013-04-18T23:00:27.334-07:005 Musician must-do’s for a kick-ass live gig<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>5 Musician must-do’s
for a kick-ass live gig</b></div>
<b><div style="text-align: center;">
<b> </b></div>
</b></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Welcome to the generation of the
D-I-Y Indie musician, where the person you can depend on the most for getting
anything done is yourself. Here are some pointers for an amazing gig with happy
audiences , happy venues and a satisfied band<span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><!--[endif]--><b>Get a
Packed house<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
One thing every venue will love you for is your
ability to bring in a crowd. If it’s your first gig at a new venue this is an
important deciding factor for booking your next gig. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
Here are some things you(& the venue)
must do prior to the gig:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Facebook
Event: </b>Create a facebook event at least 2 weeks prior to the gig and invite
everyone on your list. Post 3 reminders as your status at intervals prior to
the gig date. This ensures that people who have missed it the first time see
it. Urge your friends & fans to share the event as much as they can.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Phone
Calls: </b>Personally call your close friends, relatives, die-hard fans,anyone
who you would like to invite for the gig. Never underestimate the power of a personalized
phone-call. It’s way more effective than facebook and e-mail.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>E-mail : </b>People
might not always follow facebook updates. An e-mail is a sure fire way to get
the message across to them. Make sure the subject has all the gig details, as not
everyone might open the e-mail and go through all the contents.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Press: </b>Get
the venue to do a press release or contact the press yourself with dets about
the show.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 29.0pt;">
After the show, make sure to thank
all the people who came for the gig personally.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><b>Give the Audience
what they Want</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
Although some bands are opposed to the
idea, initially it’s best to have a mix
of originals & covers in your set list. When the crowd doesn’t know you and
they hear something familiar it helps them to build a connection with the band.
Your band can always do your own take on the songs and make it sound different
from the original. While selecting songs, gauge the venue, the event and the
target audience that you’re expecting for the gig.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
Sense the mood of the crowd and play your set
accordingly. If the audience is looking
disengaged you might want to play one of the faster songs in your set to get
their attention or of of your numbers they’re more familiar with. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">
<b>3. Engage
the Audience <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
Face it ..there’s a little part of everyone
that want to be up on the stage singing to a crowd and receiving applause. Why
do you think karaoke nights are always such a hit? Teach the audience a section of the song and
make them sing along or clap along. It makes them feel like a more integral
part of the experience. Needless to say this always gets the band a huge round
of applause after.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<b>4. Have
Band merchandise/CD’s Available<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
Give your fans a reason to remember you after
the gig. If you have CD’s ,T-shirts or other merchandise ,make sure you or a
friend set up an area near the stage to sell them after the gig. Also make
announcements about the same during the gig. Something that I often do after
gigs is walk around with a box of my CD’s and ask people if they would like to
get one. It also helps you talk to your audience post the gig and make it a
more personal experience for them. I sold 2 boxes of CD’s at a festival gig and
got a bunch of new FB fans after I went around post the gig with my boxes of
Cd’s. I’ve even seen big artists do this at gigs with their own CD’s. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>5. Announce where people can check you out online<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
There was this band that played
at a hip joint in Delhi and after the set “Thank you folks” was all they said
and left the stage.Now when people like your music they want to hear more of
you..but you have left them with absolutely no indication of where they can
find you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Make sure that you announce the
band name clearly at the beginning and at end of the show & where the
audience can find your music on the web (Website/facebook page/mailing list). You
could even get your friend to hand out slips of paper to the audience with band
info that would help them remember where
to find you guys online post the gig.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
That been said, remember there is no excuse
for not practicing before a gig. Practice comes first and the all the rest
comes second. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Now go kick some ass!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
About the author: Pragnya Wakhlu is a
singer-songwriter from Delhi & the front woman of the folk-rock band “Soul Strings”, international all women’s
band “White Lilies” and her own band “Pragnya Wakhlu Collective”. She has performed
over 250 shows across India and the US. She released her debut album “Journey
To the Sun” in 2012 in collaboration with artists across India. (Get it at
musicfellas :http://www.oklisten.com/pragnyawakhlu )<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
To get in touch with Pragnya visit:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
Facebook: facebook.com/pragnyawakhlumusic<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
Twitter
@pragnyawakhlu<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment--></div>
Pragnya Wakhluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18233243348954161695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8835232933199785358.post-47529418539817510422012-07-25T22:41:00.002-07:002015-04-11T08:38:55.900-07:00How to get a censor certificate for your music video in India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0in; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">When I was trying to get a censor
certificate for my music video, I found that there was nobody</span><span style="font-size: 18px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">( including the channels) who knew the actual
process on how to get a censor certificate.Most people would find an
agent;pay him 5X times the cash that you actually need to pay and get it
done.For a musician that's quite a bit of money.So I went on a mission to get
the censor certificate all by myself; called the Delhi censor board and figured
out the way it's done..Mission accomplished!!:) I now have my censor
certificate and Vh1 is airing my video in August 2012.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I felt this post
would help other musicians/bands who are also trying to get one.It's not all
that tough as it's made out to be..Read on..</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cYk7VkopQhE/UBDXg1H9ttI/AAAAAAAAAj0/zm-frdq_Ctg/s1600/IMG_1447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cYk7VkopQhE/UBDXg1H9ttI/AAAAAAAAAj0/zm-frdq_Ctg/s400/IMG_1447.JPG" height="300" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Censor Certificate for my music video "Rise"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/akAa4-H9om0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/akAa4-H9om0?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; font-weight: normal;">Watch the Video "Rise" above</span></h2>
</div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Checklist of items you need before you apply for a
censor certificate</h2>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Create a version of your video with a ‘Time
Code’ & the text ‘Censor Copy’ at the bottom of the video. This is so that
in case there are any cutes the censor board knows at exactly which second the
cuts need to be made. This should be the only video on the CD .The Cd needs to
be labeled as follows:</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
a.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Song Titled: <<Fill in Song name here <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">e.g. “Infatuation”>></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
b.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Duration : <<Write duration in mm:ss <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">e.g. 3 min 59 secs</span>>></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
c.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Producer: <<Write artist name here if you
are financing it yourself e.g. <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">Dhiraj Raina</span>>></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>A demand draft of Rs. 1020/- needs to be made
payable to the ‘Pay & Account officer ,Ministry of I&B ,<City you
are applying to>’ .The City will change according to the censor office you
are applying to. E.g. If I am applying in Delhi the demand draft would be
payable to ‘Pay & Account officer ,MInistry of I&B ,New Delhi’ .Get 2
photocopies of this demand draft.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Script/Lyrics : 2 copies of the lyrics of the
song exactly in the way the appear in the video.Format of the document should
be :</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
a.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Title : Script/Lyrics for
<<Songname>></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
b.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Written by : <Lyricist name>></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
c.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Lyrics of song</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Synopsis: 2 copies of the Synopsis for the song</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
a.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Title: Synopsis</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
b.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><b>Reason
for Censor Certificate: provide details of which channel needs it </b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
c.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Song details:</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b>Name of
Song</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b>Language</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b>Brief description
of song & Music video</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b>Album</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b>Artist</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b>Director</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b>Asst.
Director</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b>Agency</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b>Director
of Photography(DOP)</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b>Second
camera</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b>Producer</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b>Production
Assist</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b>Edited by<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
5.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Covering Letter addressed to the Regional
Officer(See format in example below)</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
6.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Undertaking on a Rs.100 stamp paper ,notarized
by the court. The text for the undertaking is provided on a sheet by the Censor
guys.You need to obtain this from their office.The whole notary process
including the stamp paper should cost you about Rs. 300-350 bucks & you can
get it done from any district court or notary guy.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
7.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Buy a cardboard File & label it with the
following details:</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
a.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>CBFC ID</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
b.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Producer Name</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
c.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Song - <<Songname>></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
d.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Duration<<In mm:SS>></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
File
your documents in this folder</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Great !So you have all your documents with you..Now you’re
ready to apply for your certificate!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Sample Submittion
</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Script/Lyrics<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Lyrics : ‘Rise’<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Written by : Pragnya
Wakhlu<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">You can’t stop my will , a bird in flight..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Riding through the sleepless night,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Guiding my way, a powerhouse of light..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Not outside but within..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Barriers may come, but they will fall..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I won’t break down, I will stand tall..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Not you or anyone can make me feel small..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I live for my dream..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My time has come to rise..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My time has come to rise..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My time has come to rise..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My time has come to rise..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I see my dream materialize..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Building blocks in front of my eyes..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Steadfast, withstand the wind..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Brave and strong carry on..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My time has come to rise..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My time has come to rise..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My time has come to rise..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My time has come to rise..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">No backing down, no losing hope..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Glorious intent and steely strength..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Pessimists we have no room for you..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Our hearts are living the dream..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My time has come to rise..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My time has come to rise..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My time has come to rise..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My time has come to rise..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p><b style="background-color: white; text-indent: 0.5in;">Synopsis</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<b>Reason for Censor Certificate: </b>VH1
India would like to screen the music video on the ‘VH1 India Rules’ platform to
promote independent musicians in India. For this they require the music video
to have a censor certificate.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
The details
of the Song are as follows:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<b>Name of Song:</b> ‘Rise’ </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<b>Language:</b> English</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<b>Brief description of song & Music video:
</b>The song ‘Rise’ is written to inspire people to rise to their true calling.
The video depicts the pure spirit (in white) and symbols of growth and
prosperity such as rise fields, sunshine and several shots of nature. The song
is intended to motivate and inspire people.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<b>Album:</b>
Journey To the Sun</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<b>Artist: </b>Pragnya Wakhlu feat. Sanjay
Joseph</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<b>Director:</b> Prateek Sethi</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<b>Asst. Director :</b> Shreya Gulati</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<b>Agency: </b> Trip Creative Services, Mumbai,Maharashtra</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<b>Director of Photography(DOP)</b> : Aashith
Shetty</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<b>Second camera</b> : Dhanya Pilo</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<b>Producer </b>: Pragnya Wakhlu</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<b>Production Assist:</b> Vijay Ubale</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<b><span style="background: #EBEBEB; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Edited by:</span></b><span style="background: #EBEBEB; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Prachi S Shirodkar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<o:p> </o:p><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<br></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<o:p> Covering Letter </o:p></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
To,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
The Regional
Officer CBFC ,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
New Delhi</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
Dear Sir,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
I am
submitting the song titled “Rise” for certification along with the following
documents for certification:</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
1)Demand Draft</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
2)<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>Script(Lyrics)</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
3)<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>Synopsis</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
4)<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>Undertaking</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kindly certify the film as soon as possible.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thank you,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pragnya Wakhlu</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<h2>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8835232933199785358" name="_Toc328812686">Step by Step Process to get a censor certificate</a></h2>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>The first thing you have to do is create an ID
for yourself on the CBFC website.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
a.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Go to the CBFC Website :<a href="http://cbfcindia.gov.in/"> http://cbfcindia.gov.in/</a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
b.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Click on ‘Register’ </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
c.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Create a username & password for yourself.You
will receive a CBFC id</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
d.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>You need to call up the censor board office
where you are applying and ask them to activate your ID. If they don’t do it
over the phone you need to go there with the printout of the confirmation page
and ask them to activate it</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Once your id is created and has been activated,visit
the CBFC website & log in with your CBFC id & password. You will come
to the Home page</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Go to the ‘Application Forms’ tab .Select the
‘Fresh’ option from the drop down on the
<span style="background-color: #c59a07; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">Form IA: Application for Certification for
public exhibition of a VIDEO film produced in India. </span>Row & click on the ‘Apply’ button.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>You will be taken to Form 1-A where you need to
fill in the details of the short film(See reference application below for
reference)</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
5.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>On the ‘Screening Fee’ Tab select ‘Yes’ for ‘Whether film to be screened
at CBFC.The screening fee takes care of the projector that the CBFC guys hire
to review your music video/film.The charge is Rs. 70/-</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
6.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>On the ‘Certification Fee’ tab select ‘NPE” for
Whether the film is PE/NPE.The certification fee is Rs. 950/-</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
7.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>The Total payable amount shows on the screen
which is Rs. 1020/-. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
8.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Go to the ‘No. of DD’s to be added’ dropdown and
select ‘1’.A pop up will open where you need to enter the Demand Draft Details.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
9.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>At the bottom of the Page Click on ‘List of
Documents’.Select the following:</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
a.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>9/6 Copies of Script/Commentary</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
b.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>9/6 Copies of Synopsis</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
c.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Rs. 100 Undertaking on stamp paper</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
10.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Save the document & Submit.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
11.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Once you have submitted you need to take a print
out of FORM 1A which you have filled online, & the list of Documents</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
12.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>File all documents in the labeled cardboard
file. Check if all the documents below are present:</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
a.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Covering letter</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
b.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Synopsis – 2 copies</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
c.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Lyrics – 2 copies</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
d.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Form 1-A</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
e.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Undertaking on Rs. 100 Stamp paper</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
f.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Demand Draft</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
g.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Photocopy of Demand Draft</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
h.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Censor Copy CD of music video with Time Code</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
13.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Now that the online submission of the documents
is complete, you need to physically go and submit the documents to the censor
board.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
14.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Once this is complete you need to log in &
you can keep checking your certification status from the website & which
stage your certification is in.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
15.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>Once it reachs the printing & issuance
stage,call the censor board & ask if the certificate is ready to be
collected.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
16.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span>IF cuts are to be made they will ask you to make
cuts & you need to resubmit the video..but if all’s clear you should
receive the certificate within 10 days from the day of submitton! </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
All the best with your music video ! If you like this post do 'Like' my facebook musicians page <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pragnyawakhlumusic">www.facebook.com/pragnyawakhlumusic</a></div>
</div>
Pragnya Wakhluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18233243348954161695noreply@blogger.com47India20.593684 78.962885.536602 58.748036 35.650766 99.177724