With every new song, one can see that Shah Rukh Khan’s film, Jab Harry Met sepal, also featuring Anushka Sharma, is setting a benchmark for the rest of the industry to follow.
MusicMix
The collaboration between Shah Rukh Khan and Diplo can only be heard by those who pay.
With every new song, one can see that Shah Rukh Khan’s film, Jab Harry Met sepal, also featuring Anushka Sharma, is setting a benchmark for the rest of the industry to follow. For instance, ‘Safar’ is being applauded for highlighting the lyricist of the song, Irshad Kamil, by featuring him in the video alongside director Imtiaz Ali and music composer Pritam.
JHMS’ latest song ‘Phurrr’, which has the potential to become the biggest musical hit in India this year, is a collaboration with Diplo, the insanely popular electronic artist who has worked with the likes of Justin Bieber, Sean Paul, Rihanna, Ellie Goulding, Madonna and Beyonce.
As if this fancy collaboration wasn’t enough to get people’s attention, Sony Music India has decided to put a limited-time paywall on the song, releasing only a small sample of it on YouTube where one will have to pay to listen to the whole thing. Those who wish to hear the song first can pay to hear it, while others will have to wait for the release of the full track, which will happen much later.
Shridhar Subramaniam, President of Sony Music Entertainment in India and Middle East, commented on the decision: “The concept of ‘everything-free’ will change or rather needs to change to an ecosystem where some things will be free and other things will be paid. The reason ‘Phurrr’ was chosen is because it is the biggest project of the year with an international collaboration so we felt that if we are taking this step then we must do it with a very big song. We needed a big project with a must-listen song that had so much anticipation.”
The producers of JHMS are also on board with this decision. “At the end of the day, it is the health of the music industry and the health of the platforms that are at stake and this decision directly benefits the health of the creators. They will definitely be in for this. While also for us Red Chillies, SRK and Pritam embraced this idea whole heartedly,” he concluded.
At a time where music piracy is at an all time high, this move should be welcomed by the industry and must be encouraged for others to follow as well.
As for Diplo’s foray into India, it is hardly surprising. Just last year the music producer performed in Pakistan while Adil Omar and Talal Qureshi’s collective outfit, SNKM (Sonic Nocturnal Kinetic Movement) performed at Diplo’s Mad Decent Block Party in the USA.
