Why do record labels shy away from Rock music or don’t give Independent rock musicians a chance?
Record music is basically a bad business, the cab driver does not buy a rock music CD, he buys a Jhankar Beats. In Kolkata, ‘Bangla Rock’ sells better than Bollywood or Bangla film music. In Bengal, there are bands like Bhoomi and Chandra Bindu, who get good money to play at concerts in Bangladesh and West Bengal. One of the main reasons they excel is because they are singing in their local language. Even the rickshaw driver listens to Bangla Rock. On the contrary, there are no Hindi Rock bands here, apart from Euphoria. If it can happen in Bengal, it can happen here. That is my opinion. Do you think Indian Rock bands have any future? Rock bands today certainly have a great future, I-Rock started 23 years ago, and back then, you couldn’t do anything if you didn’t have a record company backing you. Music was available in physical format, like cassettes and CDS. However, now, rock bands stand a good chance. Physical format sales have fallen more than 60 per cent. On the other hand, sales
