JOIN USAre Instagram reels driving how music is made?
There is little to argue that social media has influenced the way we look, travel, eat and even do up our homes today. But some music experts will tell you that short-video-sharing formats, Instagram reels, in particular, are influencing how music is conceptualised.
There is a sort of template to the songs today — lyrics are snippety and repetitive, and music is loopy and dance-worthy. Even the slow and serenading ‘Meri Jaan’ from Alia Bhatt’s ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ has lent to very many Instagram reels. It is just one of many examples.
Be it ‘Naatu Naatu’ from filmmaker S S Rajamouli’s latest ‘RRR’ or ‘Arabic Kuthu’ from actor Vijay’s hostage drama ‘Beast’, the 15- to 30-second reels have given these multilingual films the much-needed pan-India attention. ‘Srivalli’ from Tollywood star Allu Arjun’s Pushpa has featured in over 12 million reels. In Bollywood, the ‘Doobey’ reel from the Deepika
Padukone-starrer ‘Gehraiyaan’ became an earworm in no time.
Singles work no differently. ‘Bijlee Bijlee’, ‘Raatan Lambiyan’, and ‘Dance Meri Rani’ have translated into millions of reels.
Playback singer Sanjith Hegde has noticed the shift. “There are artistes who have changed the process of composing music. They are trying to introduce the ‘hooks’ earlier on in the songs,” he begins. Then others are experimenting to make music for 30- to 60-second formats. “Many artistes are still getting used to writing a song for reels,” he points out.
Sanjith feels this shift in music-making will not fare well for the craft in the long run. “It may benefit one artiste but not everybody... If the purpose behind composing a song is for it to go viral on a particular medium, then the art of music-making is under threat,” he disapproves of the cookie-cutter formula that many are following.
He feels that if a song is fresh and unique, it will effortlessly work across media — from TV to social media platforms.
Well-known Kannada music composer and singer Vasuki Vaibhav has to his credit viral ‘dance reels’ like ‘Innunu Bekagide’ and ‘Udupi Hotel’. He deconstructs the trend of reels.
“Nowadays, people’s attention span has reduced. They like a song’s tune or lyrics just after listening to it for 20-30 seconds,” he explains why some music directors may feel the need to fit into the reel mould and popularise music on platforms like Instagram.
Singers and actors also play a role in popularising songs in the reel format, he goes on to add.
Though he believes that composers should adapt to the changing technology and related trends, he says music will lose its essence if it is composed just for the reels’ sake.
“I don’t compose my songs or sing to see them trend on reels. They become popular organically,” he says.
Watch latest videos by DH here: