There used to be offline sources of knowledge or information, such as music magazines and music newsletters before pillars of the music industry in India started following the new “digital media” trend for covering everything that happened in the Indian music scene. However, online media has started overshadowing offline media over the last few years when it comes to the independent music scene. Today, almost every offline music magazine has stepped into the world of online media and they strive to retain the desired level of presence of their followers and attract others with regular updates on each and every event or activity. In the midst of rage and passion, numerous online magazines or newsletters or blog agencies have been formed with a good intention to promote the indie scene effectively. Most of them focus on a lot of categories other than music, such as food, travel, movies, entertainment, and health. There are few online music magazines that cover a wide range of sub-categories, including Indian music and International music, for example the Record. There is a huge difference between a music newsletter and a newsletter that has music as one of the categories.
Having said all that, it is highly important to mention that the Indian indie music scene is blessed with one more music newsletter called Fangirl which is the only one of its kind. It is a unique fortnightly music newsletter which is founded by a group of Ahmedabad based insane music enthusiasts who are extremely aware of the value of artists, organizers, and everyone who is contributing to the Indian indie music scene.
They strive to contribute to the scene in their own way by covering, reviewing all the events, artists, their albums, songs, and ‘behind the scenes’ stories that form the basis of the Indian music scene and sharing it all with you. If you are a musical geek and if you are the one who likes to follow each and every update on what is happening and what is not in the indie music scene, then we highly recommend Fangirl. The best thing about Fangirl is their unique way of writing. Basically, it seems like you are listening to a story or some good news from an overly excited friend of yours who has just witnessed it and can’t wait to share his/her experience with you. Their unique style of blending catchy Hindi words that compose sensible yet amusing statements in Hindi with the English language makes it more user-friendly and entertaining.
Its first edition is out. Go through it, enjoy it, and thank us later! By the way, don’t forget to Subscribe if you want to receive the latest edition in your e-mail inbox the moment it gets released and updates on what Fangirl is upto.
Often, we see people complaining that the scene is not growing or the scene sucks but the problem is not in the scene. In fact, the independent music scene is as good as it should be and it is growing continuously at an exponential rate. The main problem is in the people’s minds only as they are not ready to pass through the membrane of the mainstream music scene in India. As a result, they are unaware of all the amazing events such as NH7 Weekender, Ziro Festival, Magnetic Fields Festival and great acts, such as As We Keep Searching, Peter Cat Recording Co., Soulmate, and the Circus that happen on a bigger scale in the independent music scene in India. The scene’s growth is highly dependent upon the individuals’ intentions who are working in the scene as organizers, musicians, producers, or media specialists. They all have to ensure that somehow they make the different realms of the scene visible to all these people who are unaware, ignorant, and who just need that one little push to get them started.
Featured image credits: Fangirl
