A veteran of over two decades in the music industry, Sagarika Das of Sagarika Music has donned the hats of a producer, distributor, marketer, and content creator with aplomb. In this detailed interview, she talks about her long musical sojourn from the vantage point that comes from her ability to adapt to the changing times and her intense desire to entertain.
1) Developing and marketing over 10,000 music tracks is a phenomenal achievement. You’ve had an impact on the lives of several musicians over the years. Can you briefly take us through your journey from the early days?
I started working with my father as my first stint since Junior College. It was a learning opportunity for me, and I utilized it to the best of my ability. I gained insights into the business of manufacturing compact discs and music cassettes, as our clients were major music companies of the day. While I initially handled finance operations, I managed to weave a good network across the music industry. Though I was trained in classical music by Ms. Aarti Ankliker, I took up the creative side of producing albums for Sagarika only after the birth of my son in 1997. It was impossible for me to visit clients with the newborn needing all my time. With some help from my dad, I decided to delve into Marathi music. Despite having little knowledge of Marathi, I familiarized myself with the genre through intense listening sessions. I entered the studio for the first time in 1998 and produced my album. This experience, along with traveling to the interiors of Maharashtra to explore various genres of music, played a crucial role in producing my subsequent albums.
In 1991, I decided to venture into Indipop because it was the big thing at that time. The success of Adnan Sami and Alisha Chinai opened the floodgates for Indipop music. I signed Vaishali Samant on an exclusive contract for five years. Churning out remixes, many of which became hits, was a delectable experience. Eventually, we transitioned to original content, and it took “Aika Dajiba,” an album we worked on for over a year, for me to be taken seriously as a music label. The album was an overnight success and gave me the confidence to further venture into the highly competitive music market. “Meri Madhubala” was another album that did extremely well for us, after which there was no looking back. The Marathi music division took off as we produced all kinds of Marathi music, including Bhajans, Bhavgeet, Powada, and more. Sagarika Music had truly arrived.
2) You started off and consolidated the Marathi music industry, bringing to light a number of popular artists like Vaishali Samant and Avdhut Gupte, among others. How do you spot talent, and how did you involve yourself mainly in the creation of Marathi music?
Honestly, I don’t think talent spotting has any formula. Talent is talent regardless of the language. Stars like Swapnil Bandodkar, Vaishali Samant, Avdhut Gupte, and even composer Ajay Atul took off as Indipop artists. It’s only because Marathi was their mother tongue that they also produced Marathi music. On the other hand, having a good ear and taste in music can help you spot talent. I was exposed to good music at a very early age because my father worked in the music industry. The fact that I learned music meant a lot. In my view, an A&R person should know the artist thoroughly because it would help present the artist in the best way possible. More than spotting talent, I believe it is the presentation of an artist that makes them a star.
3) Sagarika also brought an element of glamour to the Marathi Music industry. Can you talk us through the reasons and the experience?
One of the reasons I can immediately think of is that I come from outside the Marathi industry. I had to carve a unique identity. I didn’t follow a set play-by-the-book model. Listening to Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, and the Lavanis of Ram Kadam and other great Marathi performers gave me great joy, and I guess I presented my music differently. That is what eventually made the difference. We used different musicians, varied tracks, and added a dose of glamour that was absent in the industry at the time.
I realized that I had very little knowledge of films as a technical medium. In 2008, I enrolled at the New York Film Academy, which helped me become hands-on with the camera and editing techniques for my production house. The learnings helped me manage my budgets and be more prolific in my output without compromising on quality. Sagarika then ventured into live shows for various channels. The progression has been gradual but in the right direction, and I would certainly like to produce a musical. The details of that are being worked out. I am open to any language for this musical, provided it is in sync with the Sagarika brand of content.
4) Artists these days have a short shelf life. Could you shed some light on how artists should align themselves with the times?
To my mind, this is completely the doing of the artist; patience and talent are key. It is better for the artist to work hard and be ready to go through the grind. It gives them the coveted abilities to present and conduct themselves in the industry in the right manner. An artist should also be ready to adapt themselves to the changing trends that evolve rapidly. This reinventing is critical for every creator. Changing their music to suit the times for a music composer, songwriter, or singer will ensure continued success.
5) How has music promotion changed over the years? What novel ideas have you used in promoting music? Is there any particular model you follow?
With the advent of social media, music promotion has changed drastically. Back then, given the prohibitive costs, it was difficult to promote music for an independent label or a solo artist on music channels, radio, television, and newspapers. The challenges that come with promoting on social media, given the fact that it is free, are also manifold. Standing out from the crowd takes a different kind of effort. It is important to be creative in your presentation. The angle you choose matters the most. It could be the topic of the song or the artist. Every song needs a different kind of promotion, so there cannot be a laid-down promotional model. One has to be intelligent in choosing the audience for the release, which has become possible currently, unlike in earlier times. It comes down to the common sense principle of choosing your target audience before making a product.
6) You have been involved in music production, publishing, video making, and have also delved into television and film content. How do you manage to wear so many hats at the same time?
Yes, over the last decade, I have been involved in a lot of activities. Most of it is organic because the music industry demanded it. Thankfully, all these activities have been interrelated and within my area of expertise, which is music production, marketing, promotion, conceptualizing, and creating live music. Learning film making was a beneficial move too. I must tell you that it has been fun all through, which is why it never became a burden, and I became a part of the ecosystem.
7) Can you tell us about your very dynamic artist management division and its activities?
The fact that 80% of Sagarika’s music repertoire has been non-film music meant my interactions with artists were frequent and meaningful. Releasing film music would have perhaps deprived me of interaction with so many music creators/artists, as we would have received the master in a final recorded form. Our first success, “Aaika Dajiba,” became the catalyst for our artist management division. This was because working intensely with Vaishali Samant for over a year meant that we got to know each other really well. The success of the album opened up a whole new world of opportunities for Vaishali, whereby she started receiving a slew of film offers and shows. She could barely handle all of that. I realized that I could add value to an artist’s career by helping them carve their career path. I steered the artists to position themselves in the industry and hired a team who could negotiate and get them offers. My personal focus was on helping the artist create a brand identity, guiding them on what to say or wear at the early stages of their career. Swapnil Bandodkar, Avdhut Gupte, all came on board. It is important that every artist is comfortable with the label they represent, as it is the best way to ensure their best output. Our being small yet independent gave us the opportunity to do that. This has ensured that artists trust us and want to work with us even to this day. They feel at home with Sagarika. I guide new entrants even if they do not sign up with Sagarika. I love assisting them in finding their way and spend at least a day of the week with them.
8) How do you see the future of independent artists and labels in the coming times? Has music promotion become more important than content?
I see the next couple of years as extremely crucial for both independent artists and labels. Film music has dominated the scenario for a very long time. The encouraging factor is that the present music audience is open to new artists. It is paramount that both the label and artist work hard to give it that X-factor like film music. When these conditions are met, it will strengthen independent labels and independent artists. At Sagarika, we are very excited about these prospects and have started working towards such ends.
What are your immediate and long-term goals for the company, given the fact that you are involved in multiple activities? How do you see the artist-label relationship being mutually beneficial for the upkeep of the music and allied entertainment arenas?
Our immediate goals are to create the content we have been in all the languages we have worked in till now. For the long term, we want to create more independent music and expand our listener base. We plan to bring on board international artists to Sagarika and add a dash of Indian flavor to the creation. Saranga, our new project, involves singer Swapnil, Composer Ashok Patki & Vikram from Berkeley producing the music with an African drummer and an American sound engineer. This is an attempt at fusion, and I am very curious to know how it sounds. Artists from various parts of the world are on the anvil. There would be a similar representation for the video presentation that we would focus on for short films, feature films, and live content.
9) How do you see the artist-label relationship being mutually beneficial for the upkeep of the music and allied entertainment arenas?
Today’s artists, with social media platforms offering an opportunity to release their music, can do without a music label. But the fact remains that both need each other, especially in the independent music scene. An individual artist will have limitations in promoting themselves, while a label’s job is to do exactly that for the artist. There is a big difference in both approaches, and the label can do much better than the artist in promoting their work.
As a label, we work tirelessly to get the best deals, ensure timely payments, create the best videos and songs, and put in all the required effort so that the artist can focus on their music. I always tell my artists, “You focus on your music, and leave everything else to us.” At the end of the day, the artist should trust the label, and the label should have the artist’s best interests at heart. This mutual trust and collaboration lead to a successful artist-label relationship, which benefits the music and entertainment industry as a whole.
Thank you so much for sharing your insights and experiences, Sagarika. It’s been a pleasure talking to you
