The world wide web is loaded with music websites offering music downloads at prices so attractive that any user would easily fall for, and while the world was lapping it up ages ago, India only woke up to the boom about seven or eight years ago, but despite its late beginnings, music portals are up and running and making money. So if you want to buy music digitally, what are the choices you have?

Apple which started it all, with its iTunes store in 2003, and its Indianised version in December 2012, allows users to download and buy music. ITunes incidentally is the world’s largest market for digital music. The store stocks international music and also features both Indian (including Bollywood and Tamil films) and International music from all major labels including Sony Music India, Saregama, T-Series, YRF Music (Yashraj), Universal Music India, among others. It also has a good mix of music in regional languages as well. Individual songs at the Apple’s iTunes stores are priced reasonably just like any the other website. The advantages of iTunes are that the site has a good catalogue that is growing; besides it has a clear system of defining genres and music. The only disadvantage we can find is that some albums maybe slightly expensive, but then good things don’t come without a price. At the site you can also gift your friends an iTunes Gift card and other such items. This can be done from your iOS device or computer. You can give them the freedom to choose whatever they want from the iTunes Store. But according to music record head who wished to remain anonymous, sales are not that up and coming. “If you think people pay and get music, you are sadly mistaken. There are loads of illegal websites in India and around the world that offer you songs for free, thus spoiling a growing market for us.”

Music has undergone a huge revolution with heavy consumption through online streaming services since the last decade or so. C. P Joseph of Spotlight Networks states “We didn’t have internet during our time, but now services like iTunes and Spotify have provided huge platforms for artistes. Earlier, there were no opportunities for artistes because of the heavy pressure of Bollywood music. With the digital advancement, times have changed. I feel the record labels must have a mutual understanding and market the music together.”

Paid music services have been growing in India rapidly in the recent times. HP has partnered with Hungama and Universal Music India to launch its subscription based music service called HP Connected Music. They tag it as “Buy an HP notebook and fall in love with music all over again. In this package you are assured of free download of music content for a year, and a chance to win free concert tickets and merchandise. We would add that the free tickets could happen only when there are concerts, which is a rarity for the moment.

So you could get an Indian born Ireland based musician Utsav Lal playing ragas on the piano for Rs. 250/- a song, While they lack music from international bands, their trump card according to their site is to create a truly pro-musician digital platform that musicians could trust and a destination consumers could come to for discovering music and supporting the musicians they love. Uday Benegal of Indus Creed however has a different view on downloading music.”Ours is a different sound altogether. If people like your song, you are lucky you will get sold, but as for us, an indie rock band, it’s a rarity to sell much on the online sales. Be it our rock sound or music from Whirling Kalapas, those who gel with the music, will go for it.”

They may not be one of the recipients at the recently concluded Marathi Entertainment Awards, but Moksh can surely be labeled as India's First Raag Metal Band and First ever Marathi Rock band in the World. We might have produced gems from Indian Ocean, Pentagram to Advaita who have managed to crossover, but here is a band that has changed the sound altogether in terms of the language and the music. According to Sagar Joshi one of the founders of the band, rock music in India has suffered from an identity crisis. The five-piece Thane based youngsters sell themselves as the first ever Marathi rock band. They are on the verge of releasing their first ever album in November. “We have no plans on releasing the music online at the moment, but yes we do have Facebook page where we can showcase our music. For a band like ours whose language is Marathi, we have a very niche audience and hence they would rather get our CD than capture one song on their phone. But yes we do have plans on online sales in the near future.

Moksh should probably try out India based site Artist Aloud.com a platform for both, Independent Music makers and fans of Independent music. The site promotes Musicians, Bands, Singers, Composers, Instrumentalists, etc. who create popular non film music and help them distribute their original music, enabling them to reach out to their fans. They also offer a wide variety of genres and music videos too in all languages. Artist Aloud is where you can download the best music content of local artists in the quickest and the cheapest way. Indian website Artistaloud.com helps upcoming artists to promote their music on their site. They not only help in monetizing the artist income, they also protect the rights, talents and livelihood of thousands of songwriters whose work could be devalued.

In February 2012, Flipkart’s digital downloads store Flyte went live, offering music in MP3 format. The store offered good DRM free music tracks starting at Rs 6 with multi device playback support in various bitrates including 64kbps, 128kbps, and 320kbps. But all was not well, when suddenly Flipkart’s online music store Flyte Music closed down a little over a year after launching it, for reasons best known to them. This not only shows that it is not easy to remain in a competitive industry, but marketing, making sure the music sells and the music labels remain happy with the returns, are points to keep the deal viable. These are some of the lessons we can learn in content businesses?

Among music companies, Saregama offers digital music for sale from its massive collection of the 40s, 50, and 60s and so on, but the only disadvantage is that its repertoire is restricted to its own catalogue. Expect to find some rare recordings you might not find anywhere else. The site also has Internet Radio and Saregama Kids.

Nokia the major mobile supplier to the Indian market also offers music to users through a subscription based model on its Nokia Ovi store service. Another well know site is Dhingana that provides a host of music selection in various languages. They offer music streaming services for free. There is also gaana.com that offers new releases across international, Hindi films, regional music, non film and independent music.

Looking at how artists benefit from the digital downloads, those who attended the annual seminar on music titled Nokia Music Connects would realize that for the artist, there is a lot of potential. With the ‘Digital Transformation’ gaining prominence in the music industry, the conference provided an industry viewpoint on the effects of the digital medium on artistes and the music industry today.

Nokia marketing director Viral Oza and Universal Music Group MD Devraj Sanyal showed how one song could gain immense popularity in the music world. Bollywood actress turned singer Priyanka Chopra made waves when she released her debut single In My City in September last year. The song has been making waves on the Indian music circuit and has already achieved a quarter of a million downloads through the digital medium. Setting new records in the space, the track was also the highest downloaded track in September. In the process of recording a new track, the songstress visualized great opportunities in the Indian market. Her new song Exotic released about a month ago is also doing pretty well.

Another site to visit would be Jango.com a radio site very simple to navigate and fun site to go to. The site has loads of music stored that not only allows you to browse through international artists, but it also gives you a sneak peak into their biography, with a few pictures thrown in. Launched in November 2007 based in the US, Jango is a social music service that lets you create and share custom made radio stations. It's the easy way to play the music you want online, legally and free. Just add more artists and rate songs that you want to play more or less. You also have the benefit to tune in to other people's stations and vice versa. The site is very interactive. You can listen to music for free, but you have to be connected to the Internet through the duration of the songs you want to play. It’s a press play and listen site without the obligation of buying online.

Similarly there’s also Savvn.com that has not only English content, but also offers its music content in different languages including Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Bhojpuri and Gujarati on its portal. Gaana.com offers the capability to download the music you like, after you sign up on the site. It also has a special section on sing along Karaoke style, very innovative and encouraging budding singers.

To that we can also state another big hit of 2012 that made headlines. The commercial success of South Korean pop sensation Psy for his Gangnam Style needs no introduction. But looking at the bigger picture, things have changed for the better. Today an artist can make music on his laptop without the need for a studio, and can promote it online and make money through a web portal.

The numbers of netizens downloading music is growing. Sources in music labels who refuse to be named, state that the music industry in India is growing at a rate of 40%, adding that India is expected to be among the top 10 global markets for net music. This is due to a major part of the music downloads being Bollywood songs which are most popular on the internet. Rough estimates put the share of digital music in Indian music market at 50%, compared to 34% globally.

But with all this, retail stores are having a tough job battling the music downloads. There is lesser number of physical music sales happening; all this due to the immense popularity of music downloads, where one can get songs, clubbed together for a cheaper price.

Industry veteran Suresh Thomas who heads Crescendo Music states that the physical format is on its last leg and that retail chains will fade away. “A lot of standalone stores have shut down and a few are surviving only because they have diversified into other avenues besides music” But saying that he is also promoting CDs to those who still prefer the format. His latest release The Magic Flute by Grammy nominee Ronu Majumdar is proof.

The digital transformation has not only availed artistes to reach to their consumer directly, but it has also provided an opportunity for consumers to get live and instant access to their preferred artistes or music without stepping out of their home or office.

Zameer G. Vahanvaty who handles his own family business states that the music download scene is still to catch on here in India. One usually has to do a lot of searching, and if they find that a particular site is good then, one would save it in their favorites and then do searches for old music, new music or whatever they like to listen to.

Vahanvaty, 40, logs onto sites like avaxhome.ws, mp3s.su, israbox.com for his music, and says that he downloads about 1gb of music everyday from different genres…..oldies, classic rock, love songs, r&b, lounge, bossa, some trance, house, retro, dance, disco. Though many feel the future is music download, Vahanvaty agrees, but in defense says that on the condition that people think less about piracy and let go of music online.

On that note we can also say that making music has now become easy, no more wasting time with record company executives who made you wait for months to get an appointment. With a laptop at your disposal you can make music in a jiffy, record it with your band at a not very expensive studio at off peak hours, and upload it on sites like artistaloud.com, oklisten.com that will put it on their portal and fetch you good returns. This not only lets you get a little publicity, but it also helps in people noticing you and your music and at the same time keeping a track of your downloads and money coming in. Ever wondered how Justin Bieber was discovered? Well it’s the same story again; try YouTube if you have a video to promote.

To that we can also state another big hit of 2012 that made headlines. The commercial success of South Korean pop sensation Psy for his Gangnam Style needs no introduction. But looking at the bigger picture, things have changed for the better.

The Indian music industry is also trying its best to hunt down online pirate sites with a vengeance, especially if recent developments are anything to go by. India might not be the first country to block pirate sites the ISP way, but it is trying its best to work in a co ordination with music labels. As per 2012 stats, the IMI identified 155 websites and finally made 103 accountable. The job didn’t end there; it had to analyze the content to know the extent of copyright infringement of its members. This list was then sent to music companies to ensure they hadn’t entered into contracts with any of the websites.

All in all, it doesn’t matter too much where you buy your music. Infact, buying from different sources each time can get you better prices and help support the artists you love, so if you don’t mind spending more time on a little research, you can get a good deal.

What it means:

Online music store sells music online through audio files, on a per-song and/or subscription basis.

Music streaming services is where the music store offers the actual music file, to either partial or full listening without actually owning the source file. However, music stores generally offer partial streaming previews, some even with full length.

By Verus Ferreira