After graduation, Bothra moved back to London where he juggles college marketing duties and management of the first British-Asian label for a major record company, Blue Elephant. The music business, according to Bothra, is a business after all. “At the end of the day, I’m a businessman, and if that’s not a traditional career, what is? Fine: I wear what I like to work, I party for work purposes, I work for party purposes, but it all boils down to numbers.”

Bothra’s advice to those seeking a career in music management: “The business is grueling, rife with politics, and back-stabbing, and awfully stressful. The business of music is also a business of people, as the end product is a combination of a recorded piece of work and the talents of a human being. If you’re going to get into this game, you need to have your wits about you. Nine times out of ten, your instincts will tell you a lot more than your ears.”

The Entrepreneur

Meet Vivek Tiwary, the 28 year-old CEO and founder of Starpolish, a marketing, management, and production company that seems to have its hands in almost all facets of the entertainment industry, including minor production in the Broadway hit, “The Producers.” As a graduate of the Wharton School of Business, and a college marketing employee of Mercury Records, Tiwary knew he could take his music industry experience and shiny diploma to the real world. After running the alternative music department at Mercury Records and his own small management company, Tiwary Entertainment Group, he launched Starpolish. Despite the loss of his parents while he was in college, he stayed focused on the music industry, investing part of his mother’s inheritance ($500,000) into his venture.

Since then, Tiwary closed another angel round of funding at $640,000 in the winter of 2001 and is seeking $10 million in institutional funding to expand into offline management, marketing, and artist bookings.

At first glance, Starpolish’s online revenue models of syndication, CD sales, and sponsorship read like a bad chapter out of CDNow’s business plan. Then again, the entertainment industry is a game of who you know, not what CPM you can get.

Tiwary seems to know everyone. His artist, A&R, attorney, and industry panel read like a who’s who of the industry. Panel members include music bands (Rage Against the Machine, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones), artist managers like Jonny Podell (director of music at both International Creative Management, and the William Morris Agency), and executives at what seems to be every major record label in the United States. Tiwary will look to leverage his networks and experience to build both his online and offline projects into a multifaceted operation.

Tiwary’s vision: “I want an Indian kid to say, ‘I want to play the guitar and be a rock star and that’s okay,’ meaning culturally acceptable and financially lucrative.”

Enter the (Soon to Be) Rock Star
Ravi Jakotia exemplifies the persona, vitality, and “look” of a rock star in every way. The only thing is, he isn’t a star just yet.

Jakotia grew up in Houston where his first memories of a music career came when he cried incessantly at a local K-Mart demanding a drum set.

His father made a deal with him: if he got a job, dad would split the cost of a drum set. Ravi started delivering newspapers and in a matter of months he had saved up enough money to buy the drums outright.

Ravi practiced like a madman, eight hours a day, and eventually was voted “Best Drummer of Florida” by Jam Magazine in 1995. His music career reads like a typical “VH-1 Behind the Music” episode: boy makes band, band gets signed to record deal, band travels the world, band manager steals $30,000 from band, band disbands.

One day Ravi mustered the courage to move to Los Angeles, where he quickly befriended other like-minded rockers through the filming of an infomercial for music equipment. Since then, Ravi has played with major American music groups such as Jane’s Addiction, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Pharcyde, and P-Funk while doing remixes for Grammy-award-winning artists like Will Smith and Ricky Martin.

When asked what it takes to make it in Hollywood, Ravi notes wryly: “You have to be stricken with a sickness, approach everything as if it’s impossible to fail, every time you go up one on the ladder, prepare to fall down two levels. It takes perseverance, ability, charisma, the right look, and unrelenting desire to succeed. Fifty percent of people who try to make it in Los Angeles end up leaving after a year and a half.” Ravi has called L.A. his home now for almost three years.

His advice to other aspiring rock stars: “Now it’s hip to be Indian. If you have the ability, you can make it happen. There’s a place for you in the music industry, you just have to carve it out. It helped that I played tabla. People like looking at a jungle-looking guy playing drums.”

The DJ/Producer/Performer

From Los Angeles back to New York and we find Karsh Kale explaining his passion for music at a release party for his debut album, “Realize.”

Kale was born in West Bromwitch, England, but moved to Queens, New York, when he was four. Since then, he has always been a musician at heart, distancing himself from traditional career paths. When he was five he started playing Led Zeppelin, Kiss, and ACDC albums while at the same time experiencing his first tabla concert featuring Zakir Hussain. Although other Indian musicians impressed Kale with their skills and abilities, Hussain was the only Indian musician who possessed a “rock star” presence. From that day on, Kale started playing the tabla.

He studied music performance at New York University, giving him an academic foundation and link to other South Asian artists in New York. Kale has since created a name for himself as a producer, tabla player, composer, and DJ in what mainstream media has labeled “the Asian underground.” Like most artists, Kale refuses to label his music for the Asian market strictly.

His performance later that night proves his unwillingness to be labeled, by combining an eclectic mix of cultures, colors, sizes, and facial hair permutations.

Kale’s blends of urban electronica and Indian classical music have led him to work with a variety of artists, ranging from Ustad Sultan Khan to Herbie Hancock to Talvin Singh. Kale has also completed work on the soon to be released Sting remix of “A Thousand Years” with Bill Laswell. His experimental nature, live performance ambiance, and intricate compositions demonstrate his passion for making quality music.

He also gives thanks where it’s due: “My first memories are from that time when my dad would play 8-tracks of the Beatles, then Marathi Lavnia (a folk singer), then some private classical concert he had recorded. Being a musician himself, he made it a point to make music available and accessible to us growing up.”

Kale’s father was a musician by hobby and physician by profession. This concept, although challenging in theory, is not new to up-and-coming DJ/Producer/Physician Dr. Pankaj Bhandari.

The Physician

Bhandari is an Indian mother’s dream and Indian daughter’s idol: a medical school resident by day, and a DJ/record producer by night, performing at the largest dance club in New York City, Twilo.

Bhandari is having his julabi and eating it too, but cautions that it isn’t an easy lifestyle.

“It’s not easy doing both medicine and music. I basically work all day in the hospital (and sometimes all night), and then come home to my studio and start working there. Not a lot of sleeping going on, but these are my priorities right now, so I make it happen.”

Bhandari’s story serves as an exemplar for Indian parents who wish stability in their childrens’ lives. His is like the old cereal commercial slogan: “Kid-tested, mother-approved.” If the music thing doesn’t work out, there’s always private practice. Although this makes for a pleasant balance in the short term, even Bhandari hopes his music career takes off. “In five years I’d like to be performing and producing full time, definitely.”

Vijay Singh Chattha is co-CEO/co-founder of UrbanGroove Networks. Write to chattha@corp.siliconindia.com
si