"Enriching Indian Music Industry with Local Flavour and Versatility is the Way Ahead" - Seymour Stein Co-founder Sire Records

By Priyaaka Mathur

"India has such incredible music spread across its wide landscape, one should not classify Bollywood as Indian Music predominantly"

Seymour Stein Co-founder/ Chairman SIRE RECORDS & former VP Warner Brothers talks to Loudest.in on the Business of A&R and where he sees the Indian Music Industry heading. 

I started in the business with SIRE RECORDS that was an Indie label for a very long time, and that's where my heart is. The Indie music labels have great opportunities ahead, as the time is right and they could be on a verge for a big breakthrough, I wish Indian music labels a good luck!

There are no genres in music I believe,there is good music and then there is bad music.I have never limited myself to genre of music,it's just how good is it.Most important is the song wherein the musicianship,production and how beautiful is the sync with the vocals, these are important aspects about a song.

The music that we hear in our younger years in the music that stays with us forever.I grew up listening to a lot of Rythm and Blues, songs like 'O-JEE by the Crows', Country and Western music and songs of Hank Williams, who was one of the greatest singer-song writers and had a career of only 6 years, as he died very young. There was a time when there was no gramophone or phonogram and there were just pianos, but it was big business always. I signed artists like 'The Ramones', 'The Smiths', 'The Pretenders' and 'Madonna' to name a few, I always concentrated on the music itself and not the mediums. I believe I'm still able to compete and recognise if a music is a hit and that's what an A&R needs, an ear for good music, be it any era - said Stein.

This all depends on the quality of the song,I think if an artist has a great voice it all depends what song he chooses to portray it to make a mark

I feel Bollywood has amazing composers like Vishal Shekhar, Shankar Ehsan Loy, who should also compose music for independent artists other than Bollywood as there is no reason to mix up everything. You have over a billion and a half people in India and there is so much music to go around and it doesn't need to be dominated by Bollywood. Like in America we have so many kind of music, so does you have in India. I think they are missing out to tap amazing local music and versatile talent that India has in store.Bollywood draws people here to India,but they don't need to be so much consumed in it.

Bollywood Music is predominantly about the music of the film and nothing outside the film. I feel there needs to be something different other than Bollywood music to showcase the culture of this place. I have been visiting India for last 25 years and have traveled across India. India has such incredible music spread across its wide landscape that needs to be experienced and exposed, one should not classify Bollywood as Indian music predominantly. I have heard Indian Classical Music and folk music from different states and that's fabulous, but is not Bollywood.I am an outsider and I see things from another perspective.