The Popularization Of Hindi Songs In TV Serials

TV serials and musical scores go hand in hand as they do in movies, because sound adds drama to the plot. It's the soul of the story, and it conveys hidden truths to the audience that allows them to follow its development better. For example, in a crime thriller, the lead can say convincingly that he is fine, but the audience will know that he isn't or he won't be, because of the accompanying music that is being played. Regardless of the choice of songs being mainstream or orchestrated, it is clear that they are important to television production.

In recent years, Hindi songs have found their way into television sitcoms with their rising popularity. Thanks to the marriage of Bollywood and Hollywood concepts, American shows today have not only embraced cultural fusion in its casting, but also applied a variety of cultural music to make the experience more genuine. Shows like Weeds, Community, Human Giant, House and Big Bang Theory have paved their way with the incorporation of Indian characters in the main billing. Going beyond that, Indian music has also taken over all forms of visual media, from film to scripted, unscripted and informational show genres, with crossover hits like Jai Ho and Chammak Challo.

Ever since 1955, foreign acts began incorporating Indian music influences and instruments into their hits. But, in the 1980s, the fad died down, leaving a few die-hard immigrant fans with no other option but to entertain underground Asian compositions. In the year 2000, Indian music slowly began to re-establish itself, like "Indian Flute" and "Don't Phunk With My Heart" (sampling Asha Boshle's "Yah Mera Dil").

As of the moment, Bollywood movies are the second most watched films in America with a built-in audience of 3 million. Imports such as Slumdog Millionaire, 3 Idiots and Ghajini earned accolades from American audiences and critics, which incited the creation of the foreign (Sony) funded Bollywood film Saawariya.

Hindi music, however, has yet to achieve a substantial following due to the fact that it is inaccessible in the area. Unlike movies, Indian songs are not mass marketed in retail stores like Walmart and Best Buy. They are also not given substantial radio airplay. Therefore, people who are interested have to look online in order to appreciate what they are all about.

Some of the most popular hindi songs for 2011 were "Teri Meri Prem Kahani" by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, "Ooh La La" by Bappi Lahiri, "Laung Da Lashkara" by Mahalakshmi Iyer and "Sadda Haq" by A.R. Rahman (Funfact: He won an Oscar for Jai Ho). But frankly speaking, there are plenty of other must-hear Hindi artists aside from those that have been mentioned, that are not yet featured in TV serials in films. There are a lot more to appreciate about Indian songs with seven types of folk music genres and of course hip hop, dance, rock and raga rock interpretations.

Music Business Terms Everyone Must Know

Have you ever been among a group of people who use terms you are supposed to know? What did you do? Did you act like me and pretend you understood perfectly? I remember my time at primary school when a would teacher use big words to describe a situation and everyone else would appear to know until I discovered the truth at break time.

It can still be like this in the music business especially when digital sectors are discussed. So in this article I want to help us understand certain terms used. They are:

1. Bundling and Unbundling: Bundling is when tracks available for download have to be purchased as an album/EP. It means you have to buy the whole "Bundle" or nothing at all. Unbundling means that the music owners have made it possible to buy one or any number of tracks from the same album/EP without the requirement to purchase the whole release.

2. Bundle: this term is used to describe a tie up of music to other services. For example Universal Music Group had a deal with a bank in France where young people requiring a credit card can also have a music service. That is a "Bundle" because it ties up financial services with music.

3. Re-Bundle: This term is used where an artist puts together high value packages by selling all they have as one package. I.e. an artist may sell a package that includes a CD, T-Shirt, DVD, Concert Ticket all at one price to their fans instead of selling the same items through various outlets. This is particularly useful where the artist has a good database of fans.

4. A la Carte: this is a process where the consumers choose what they want from different genres. So what iTunes offers is typically an A la Carte service because those who purchase from their stores can have the pleasure of choosing from anywhere in the store to make up their order.

5. Streaming: in terms of music, streaming is where you are listening to music as it is been delivered by the provider. It is distinctly different from a download, where you transfer the complete track/album to a listening device/pc/storage before you listen to the content. Where streaming is offered you cannot download the content (legally).

6. Subscription: this is a new business model that allows the consumer to listen to as much unlimited music per month for a monthly fee. It is the type of service Spotify offers.

7. Ad-funded Model: this is a type of service that shares revenue with content providers. I.e. Spotify has adverts running before the music is played. The advertisers pay Spotify to play the ad and Spotify in turn share this revenue with the music owners.

8. Music on Demand: The ability to be able to listen to, play back or watch high quality content as soon as the play button is pressed. The recent technological development of bandwidth has made this possible.