“Video killed the radio star/Pictures came and broke your heart” – The Buggles

Not every artist is on streaming giant Spotify, but a bulk of artists and even platforms such as Coke Studio 14 and several of its previous seasons have joined hands with the global streaming platform.

Celebrating one year in Pakistan, its presence has not only made it easy to find music especially if you’re on the premium version, but the numbers define how there is a drastic change in the music consumed. The rest of the world can attest to the fact that tastes have changed. Where rock music still exists, it’s the likes of Kendrick Lamar or Taylor Swift or Adele – with the latter topping charts in 100 countries – perched on the top of the charts (just ask Billboard). Similarly, a great change has come about in listening habits in Pakistan.

According to Spotify, now celebrating 365 days in the country, indie music may be frowned upon as irrelevant at home but it has an audience of, “11 percent in the United States” with a growth of listenership by 150 percent in the last year.

Electronic music made in Pakistan has over 23 percent listeners in, “United States, Canada, Germany with an increase of 223 percent in the last year”.

In other words, writing off the music’s indie community, which is essentially DIY, is not a smart move . There is something unique to Pakistan’s electronic, independent music.

Hip-Hop: music’s present royalty in Pakistan, has grown by seventy percent in the last year alone with 63 percent streaming coming from outside Pakistan.

More people are becoming content creators as over 19,590 songs were added to the platform from Pakistan in the past year. Noted a press statement, “Amongst the 184 markets, with 406 million listeners worldwide in which Spotify operates, the top countries listening to Pakistani music are India, the United States and the United Kingdom.”

Apart from usual suspects such as Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Bilal Saeed and Momina Mustehsan, Rap Demon and Young Stunners also did well in the year.

Speaking about how Spotify has changed his musical consumption, electronic producer Turhan James said, “I’m so glad to see that my music is being heard so much since Spotify launched in Pakistan. I personally feel that it has been an absolute game-changer for our music industry. The platform has given artists the opportunity to have their work showcased to millions of people, not just in Pakistan but around the world, while giving listeners the ability to consume music they would never come across. It’s been a blessing!”

“When the workin’ day is done/Oh girls, they wanna have fun” – ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ by Cyndi Lauper

As the world celebrated Women’s Day on March 8, Spotify added more to the mix of music by bringing its Equal platform to Pakistan. What it essentially means is that Spotify will highlight the work of women musicians.

Noted a press statement, “Spotify’s Global Music Program aims to amplify the work of women creators by utilizing the platform’s resources and providing new opportunities for these creators through a globally cohesive and branded experience.”

To that end, Equal Pakistan will have an ambassador every month highlighting their music and the first artist in that vision is Arooj Aftab, the ethereal-voiced, Grammy-nominated singer who created ripples with her song ‘Mohabbat’ off her album, Vulture Prince – for the month of March.

In a press statement, Arooj noted, “I am extremely excited to be the first Ambassador of EQUAL Pakistan because this kind of well-structured program will help uplift women in the audio industry of Pakistan.“

“If I could do something to promote women artists of Pakistan, I would give them all the gigs. All the women working in the music industry are super talented, so the industry should give them a chance to prove themselves and learn from those opportunities to get better at what they are already doing. We hire men by just looking at the potential that they have but in the case of women, we are constantly waiting for them to prove themselves. I think this mindset needs to change.”

For those who’ve been wondering if women can only be counted on to sing within the music industry, this platform should serve as hard evidence of the multitalented musicians, who happen to be women, raised in Pakistan.

– Turhan James image courtesy: Salt Arts   Arooj Aftab courtesy:
Coke Studio 14