Problems surrounding Pakistan’s music industry are aplenty. From a severe lack of record labels and resources to pestering security concerns that directly affect the frequency of public concerts, more than a handful of factors have been involved in bringing the industry to a stalemate.
We’ve heard and enjoyed ‘Balle Balle’ from Bin Roye on radio channels as well as award shows but it would be great to experience the melodious track on TV as well.
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Music channels 8XM Pakistan and Jalwa collaborate to start airing legal local content.
Problems surrounding Pakistan’s music industry are aplenty. From a severe lack of record labels and resources to pestering security concerns that directly affect the frequency of public concerts, more than a handful of factors have been involved in bringing the industry to a stalemate. Also an issue is the constant influx of Bollywood content on local televisions and hardly any music channels dedicated to promoting Pakistani music. However, it seems change is in motion as the country’s two leading music channels 8XM and Jalwa, who have earlier focused on bringing Bollywood content to local audiences through legal means, have now joined hands to support and promote the music industry by airing local content as well.
“Both the channels had a charter to follow; their content feed was to be populated with the best Bollywood content. Now, with the revival of Pakistani cinema and Pakistani artists travelling across borders with their talent, both 8XM Pakistan and Jalwa feel the importance of showcasing the best of both countries,” said channel representative Hassan Hayat Khan. “The initiative aims at bringing the best of local content to the viewers and reliving the excitement of Pakistani music that we lost almost 10 years ago.”
We heard and loved Noori’s ‘Aik Tha Badshah’ but the video didn’t get the kind of viewership it merited. This venture between 8XM and Jalwa should change that.
Needless to say, it’s a step in the right direction. Last year saw Noori resurface with a brand new album, Begum Gul Bakaoli Sarfarosh, and while it created quite a stir on the social media circuit and launched to incredible fanfare across cities, its preceding video had little to no air time on local television channnels. Same has been the fate of a myriad of other songs that aren’t part of brand-backed musical TV shows like Coke Studio and the Nescafe Basement. Film music, another burgeoning realm of its own, can really benefit from a platform that reaches a wider audience than the local theatres. However, given that the industry has been in the revival mode for quite some time, it’s important to question why the channels held back on local content for so long.
“One has to understand that there wasn’t much quality content to be aired in Pakistan. All of our star singers including Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ali Zafar, Ali Azmat, Strings and many more were already a part of Bollywood music and we have always promoted their content,” Khan added. “We respect the fact how Pakistani filmmakers are now joining hands with each other to bring back what most considered a ‘dead-bull’. We believe it is now our duty to support the cause.”
Asrar’s ‘Shakar Wandaan’ from Ho Mann Jahaan is up for awards and we need to see why!
One can’t help but wonder over the particular emphasis on stars, which could potentially take away from the benefits that the collaboration aims to offer the music industry. A chunk of Pakistani music, at the moment, is coming from Indie artistes, who may have not yet reached the so-called star status but are behind some of the more quality music produced in recent times, creating videos and albums on a DIY basis. Indie bands like Somewhat Super and The Sketches make for chart toppers on Patari and all five of this year’s LSA nominations for the Best Music Video belong to indie artistes. Will such a collaboration finally offer these bands the means to crossover to mainstream is the more important question.
That said it’s a much-welcome initiative that both upcoming films with good music and artistes can look to for promotion. While the process is in initial stages, the channels also plan to collaborate on exclusive music video launches.
