Jubin Nautiyal: There are so many options, it’s hard to focus on one song for long

According to Jubin Nautiyal, the shelf life of today’s music has decreased, not because good work isn’t being done, but because there is so much competition in today’s world. “Also the time span of us judging whether a song is good or bad has reduced. Earlier, movies would run in theatres for six months, even a year at times, giving people enough time to listen to and appreciate (or criticise) its music as well. But now, there are so many options that it’s hard to concentrate on one track for too long,” explains the singer, who has given hits such as Bawara Mann and Tujhe Kitna Chahein Aur. 

Nautiyal, however, points out that the reason why so much music is being produced is the amount of consumption by the audiences. “We live in a country where language changes after a few kilometers. It’s a potpourri of cultures and traditions. And for any artiste, living in a country like this is a blessing because there is a lot of scope to experiment, as there is audience for every kind of music. If Bhojpuri music has huge markets, so does Punjabi and Bollywood music,” shares Nautiyal, who strongly believes that a crazy time for music in India is coming. 

Elaborating on how the market is expanding, Nautiyal tells us that so many foreign investors are coming to India to invest in our market because there is potential. “India has a massive fan base that loves listening to music when they’re driving, hanging out with friends, or doing nothing. Our country is generating a billion hits. Pehle koi song billion hit karta tha, it used to be a big deal. Now, it’s happening very frequently. My own songs hit the two billion mark in the last year—something that seemed unachievable 3–4 years ago. “It demonstrates the type of market we’ve created... the user base we have,” Nautiyal ends.  

The wave of change sweeping across India has not just altered the music industry but has also brought about a positive change in the way filmmakers look at music. Nautiyal says, the film industry is now opening up to everything because it understands that the world is changing, the cinema is changing, and the audience’s taste is also changing. “It all depends on the audience. If we are accepting of the change, they will change with us. And that’s what has happened. Today, filmmakers are experimenting with different kinds of sounds for films. “Pehle ek type hota the film music ka,” he says, “but today, 9 out of 10 films have music, which is a very new age and something the Gen-Z generation would relate to.”