Launch of the Blue Frog Label

Less than six months after the launch of the Club, the Blue Frog Label is being launched today. The success of the Club and more particularly the tremendous reception of the live acts at the Club has already paved the way for the success of the label. I have little doubt that the label launch will be a tremendous success. There is a lot of curiosity and excitement about the launch of the label already.

The artists who are set to release their albums under Blue Frog Label are well established. I have heard some of them, and the quality of their music and sound is unquestionable. Why, John Mc Laughlin is releasing his next album under Blue Frog label! That sure is a vindication of the label’s musical soundness. Even the Indian artists under this label have created sounds that will wake you up and make you notice with awe!

The sophistication of the launch is almost a given. The 4 state-of-the-art studios are an acoustic delight and a technological marvel. Blue Frog guys do things in style, and I’m sure, the launch celebrations will have few sceptics.

The point of this blog, however, is not the launch of the label. It is about its sustainability. And its about creation of new music dynamics. Please indulge me in a bit of cause-and-effect analysis.

Lets start with the Blue Frog Club itself:

What has the Club achieved?

We all have our opinions, but the most telling statement came in from the lead guitarist of an upcoming band. “Shekhar,” he said in a voice dripping with excitement, “Can you believe it, Gibson is offering me a guitar as part of their promotion? I mean, its totally awesome. Who am I, a nobody. Why should Gibson offer me a guitar? I mean there are better guitarists in the city….” “Wow, but don’t sell yourself short, dude,” I said. He gushed, “Its all thanks to Blue Frog that musicians like us are getting some recognition… And more significantly, he added as an afterthought, ”Its such a learning experience for us. Each live performance we watch, teaches us something, one musical nuance here, another trick there, and sometimes, it also teaches us what not to do in a live act…”

That’s precisely what Blue Frog Club has achieved: In 6 short months, a single club in one city has galvanised musicians from all across the country to shape up their acts and be recognised for their musical skills. Live acts are being played all across the city and across many venues all across the country, but somehow, every musician wants to play at the Blue Frog. I know of some bands who would set up their act at any club at the drop of a hat, but to play at Blue Frog, they rehearse. They prepare a set list, they add new sounds to their repertoire, they even write new songs for a Blue Frog Act!

Added to the fact that almost every single international band who has played here has heaped praises for the venue and its audience tells us about the future. In one of my earlier blogs, I had mentioned that bands from all over the world should want to play at Blue Frog, and I’m given to understand, its already happening,

That brings me to my point here: What will Blue Frog Label achieve? And what does it foretell?

That it will achieve recognition, PR and hype, I have no doubts. That the albums launched by this label will sell quite a few copies is also inevitable. The question – and its literally a million dollar question – is will this be enough to sustain the label? The four studios with state-of-the-art technology is capable of producing some of the best sounds one has heard in recent years. But will this translate to voluminous sales that can sustain the Blue Frog label on its own without being subsidised by other streams of revenues?

I don’t have the answers. I don’t think even BF promoters have all the answers. All I know that if Blue Note can become a Very Reputable Label where legends like Oscar Peterson cut their live acts, I see no reason why Blue Frog label can not. After all, Bob Belden (of Blue Note fame) did play at Blue Frog! But will that be enough to make money for everyone, including musicians?

Early March last year, in two distinct rulings, one by the Federal Communications Commission, and the other by the Library of Congress' Copyright Royalty Board, the U.S. government took a firm stand in favour of small artists and music labels -- and local programming over media conglomerates -- even as it drove a regulatory stake through the heart of a fast-growing and popular medium for niche and independent music: Internet radio.

The two rulings set off a flurry of media coverage and online debate of the proper role of government in promoting diversity on the airwaves. They also painted a picture of a federal government at odds with itself about how to balance the rights of the public with those of artists, copyright holders and media conglomerates. But with music fans and artists increasingly disenchanted with the status quo and newly empowered by technology, the squabbling over royalties and copyright may already be causing a paradigm shift that will transform the music industry.

Let there not be even an iota of doubt that music industry is going through a phase of metamorphosis right now. The roadmap might still be vague and unclear, but that it will morph into something entirely different and perhaps unrecognizable is beyond doubt. In this rapidly evolving technological world, the music industry is seemingly willing to try anything to find new ways to stop the fiscal haemorrhage caused by free or downloading.

The only consensus is that over a period, you will be able to consume music just about anywhere and any way you want. From "personal subscriptions" to your favorite artists that will give you unprecedented access to them, to custom MP3 player mixes you'll be able to buy with a quick credit card swipe at the local coffee shop. Some envision virtual concerts in "Second Life," as well as a long-hyped celestial jukebox that could beam virtually any song ever recorded directly to your MP3 player.

A few of the changes are already here: Apple's recent deal with EMI Music to sell digital-rights-management-free songs at a premium which some think could lead to other major labels jumping aboard that wagon. Add that to the buzz that's been building since Apple's legal settlement earlier this year with the Beatles' Apple Corps that could pave the way for cheap, pre-loaded iPods containing an artist's entire catalog or song selections, to be sold at airports, bus depots or even at a concert. Will cell phones replace iPods? Can you attend concerts without leaving your home? The jury might still be hung, but the fact remains that music will only become more portable, customizable and bite-sized in the next few years.

For Blue Frog label, the most challenging task, according to me, is to expand the universe of listening audiences in India. With one club in Mumbai, the scope of creating a new set of audiences is kinda limited. Maybe they will franchise Blue Frogs in other cities in India and outside, maybe it will start a Blue Frog label promotional gig that tours smaller cities in India to expand the audience base, maybe it will start an Internet Radio Station that beams the live acts all across the globe and can be accessed only by nominal monthly rentals, maybe it will form an alliance with Apple to market Blue Frog I-Pods, maybe it will become the sole music franchisee of Electronic Arts for their games, maybe it will become the Mecca for all Indie acts and labels, maybe it will require to do all of these in a phased manner to make this venture a success.

Too many May-bes? May be. But it sure doesn’t require a bunch of Harvard grads to fix up this industry; in fact it might require a bunch of passionate Froggies who “feel the consuming public and the unknown musicians alike” who could well pave the path for the future of music.

Will Blue Frog be able to discover some lost marketing gem of an idea that has missed everyone by? Will it be able to infuse some new steroid to the haemorrhaging music industry?

As I said in the beginning, I don’t have the answers. All I know is that I would pay good money to store some of the acts performed live at Blue Frog. Preferably on a CD. I'm old school...