Resource for If You Look At The International Market Some Of The Biggest Companies Out There Are Run Features with indian and pakistani music reviews and forums. Continue for our current list of the If You Look At The International Market Some Of The Biggest Companies Out There Are Run Features.

With media playing a big role in getting a product in limelight, it doesn''t come as a surprise to see the name of a PR

firm/individual being highlighted in bold for any new film project. But what makes an ''Artist Management'' company

different from the rest? Suresh Thomas, CEO of Crescendo Promotion and Management, talks about this and a lot more

as he announces the company''s arrival in the domain of artist management.

One hears that Crescendo is moving in a big way into artist management.
That''s right, because soon this is going to be the ''mantra'' of the music industry. Yes, it is still being treated as secondary

when compared to basic business of coming up with albums and marketing CDs and cassettes but that is going to

change soon. Music companies all over talk about getting this change in the industry but so far there hasn''t been much

tangible progress in that front. Crescendo is striving to bring about this change.

So how does an artist''s promotion differ from the way it is being done currently?
There are companies doing PR work today but most of them are small. I am not saying that they are not doing a good

job, in fact they are doing good in their field but the scale is definitely lower. The potential of taking this entire exercise to

greater heights hasn''t been realized so far. As I mentioned, coming up with albums should be just one part of the entire

business model. In fact if you look at the international market, some of the biggest companies out there are run by the

artists themselves!

If you look at the international market,

some of the biggest companies out there are run by the artists themselves!

But why do you think bringing out albums is just a minor aspect?
Because if not today, in a few years from now, the entire concept of depending upon albums would just change. It may

not be extinct but it would diminish for sure. Also, managing the growth of an artist is far more challenging and exciting

than bringing out his/her music album. This means extending ourselves further than where we are today. Believe me,

event management worldwide is a much bigger industry than just a music company! I may not have the stats about it on

the top of my mind but it''s a reality.

What are the activities you have planned out to bring about the change?
We are looking at promoting and developing the artists by various means. This would mean more concerts, shows,

endorsements etc. and of course CDs. In short establish a much wider base throughout the country. Another aspect to

all this would be even getting some of the artists to appear in movies. We are getting a bunch of young people on board

though it''s not that we are averse to big names, but currently the focus is on upcoming artists. Also, it''s not just the

Bollywood singers or Indi-pop artists that we have in mind. These could be even Punjabi singers or item girls!

Managing the growth of an artist is far

more challenging and exciting than bringing out his/her music album.

Item girls?
Ya, why not? What''s wrong in that? I believe item girls are an integral part of the music industry. They contribute to a

great share for the overall revenue generated, so why not make it help the entire business. After all it is income for

everyone involved.

How does Crescendo place itself differently from other music or artists management companies?
Unlike conventional music companies, we are allowing the artists to record for others as well. And why not? If there is

another company that can promote an artist better and get him the kind of platform he deserves, why to stop an individual

from growing further?

Unlike conventional music companies,

we are allowing the artists to record for others as well.

And what''s the criteria for an artist to be on board?
Criteria is obviously that the person must be talented and should have a personality to match. The person should be

good in the skill he/she possesses i.e. dancing, singing or acting. Also, the artists must be committed to both the

company and oneself. A contract needs to be long term since there is considerable investment that goes in making an

artist a saleable name and hence we too should get confidence in the person before we get him on board.

What else?
The person should be very flexible. He should be able to understand that the music scene of today is very different from

what it used to be earlier. One needs to come out of that primitive mindset and shouldn''t be rigid if shown a path to do

things differently. Another aspect that I look for is that the person should be cooperative. It''s difficult to work with people

who throw tantrums because if you keep sorting out internal tensions, it is difficult to work outside for a career

development. There should be a lot of trust and understanding overall.

What''s the kind of contract you come up with the artists?
It is one solid contract, though there could be some changes here and there. It''s not that it is cast on stone and hence as

per the needs of the artists and mutual consensus, we can have some modifications being made to the terms for different

artists. Also percentage share from different artists could vary as well. Nevertheless, a part of this share is invested back

into the growth of an artist and keep the fire on. There may be some changes required to accommodate artists who don''t

want us to do anything with their film contracts. Whereas there could be some who want us to handle every aspect of

their career. One has to be flexible enough since each artist has his own way of working.

So how does an upcoming artist reach out to you?
I am always accessible personally and have and will never turn down an artist who wishes to meet me. In fact I would

encourage artists to reach out to us freely. What they need to do is be ready with their demo and be prepared for the

next line of action. No one knows who is the superstar of tomorrow? The biggest names have come from the most

unlikely of people. Look at Baba Sehgal. I remember I was in Magnasound when he started off as a newcomer and look

where he is today. He did quite well in the Indi-pop scene and is today a well known TV personality. Another example is

Silk Route. They were new too but then someone needs to believe in them that they have it in them!

How does the overall business model works?
We obviously plan to make big money laughs! On a serious note, we are looking at good times say, 6 months from

now. The calculation is simple. Let''s say we rope in 10 artists who prove their worth. Now even if each of them does 5-10

shows a month and hypothetically speaking gets 10 lakhs, we have a good moolah in hand. Now look at it. Tomorrow

suppose we get a Sunidhi Chauhan on board, we are sure that it will be much bigger money. As the months progress,

we are sure that the business graph should look so impressive that the turnover could be in excess or at least on par

with that coming from a record label. In the long run, we are aiming for some 10-15 crores coming on a yearly basis and

mind it, I am being conservative here. It is not an easy plan to execute though and we are giving a lot of thought in

making this become a reality. It''s certainly not a rosy road ahead but then one has to apply oneself. After all this is a

service oriented kind of business and one has to ensure that egos do not clash, there are no fallouts, it is a good enough

environment for everyone to work together.

In such a case, what makes your style of business execution different from others?
Our style of working is very flexible and artists here would vouch for that. We are a very artist oriented company and we

have never been a believer of ''it''s my way and hence it has to be done this way''! No, in fact it is the other way around.

We ask an artist what he wants and what''s the kind of plan he wishes to choose and execute. Also while helping an artist

grow, we are not restricting him from being a part of pop or films or regional music or anything else. We are open to the

kind of work that they wish to choose though we would always pitch in whenever there is an indication that a wrong step

here and there may instead hamper an artist''s growth. It''s our job to stop them in case they are en route to signing a

stupid project!