Music has been a form of entertainment and indulgence for centuries now and today the world of music is so vast and diverse that every other individual, has a different genre preference to suite their tastes. The sea counts to the unlimited waters of music available at a finger’s reach today. It was around the 1960s when electronic music came into existence and time has allowed for it, to evolve and gain an enormous audience. Electronic music is annotated most widespread and mainstream amongst millennials and the gen-z folks.

But is it? As is, electronic music is a wide umbrella term, harbouring over 200 genres and sub-genres. A handful of these genres thrive with utmost popularity, and the sounds of these genres are resonating through the walls of club culture, pushed through the Mexican wave created by the pop-culture and social media and that is mainstream music. Frank Zappa once said ” The mainstream comes to you, but you have to go to the underground.” And a whole world of underground music is out there, that is unheard by the common ear, that stays anonymous. It is one that does not care for approvals and is formed against odds.

Hence, the world of underground music, is treasure like a gem that is hidden below all the layers of the land. The finest of sounds put together, that contains the heart and soul of the artist, an art that is born out of passion and that which is unfiltered, it does not care about the expectations set by the mainstream media or popular culture.  This is an acquired taste. And every day, a niche community of artists put in hours of research and get their hands dirty to dig for the hidden gems of the underground. And these sounds of the underground are pure gold.

Artists, especially musicians, whether be singers or instrumentalists or percussion artists or in any way related to music, have been considered as entertainers and soul workers from the earliest of times. Even though they have been considered as an important part of the man’s world, yet they were never considered to be paid for their services. During the ancient and medieval times, artists were patronised by the kings and conferred a royal status. This thought process was imbibed in the modern times too where the artists could earn fame and recognition, but could seldom justifiably monetize their art form.

Till recent times, artists had to run from pillar to post, to the limited label and record companies and platforms available to showcase their talent, mould themselves as per the set patterns and ways of others and compromise on their artistic creativity and independence to monetize their art form and take up music as more than just a hobby, into a professional career-oriented domain.

But times are changing. The last decade has seen a stupendous change in the creative world. There are now several platforms to showcase the creative expressions and the talented work of artists. Technological advancement has played a major role in the dissemination of talent worldwide. Independent musicians can now release their music without the help of big banners and labels and also monetize their work. Several websites and platforms like CD Baby, DistroKid,  Amuse, Ditto Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, AppleMusic, YouTube etc. have empowered the music creators by providing distributorship and space to release their works. Policies like pay-per-click, live streaming, downloading and listening by paying, etc. have helped the artists greatly by creating a tangible value and thereby monetizing even the smallest loop or sample bits of their work. Musicians can now pursue their passion and get a promising career in this field.

These platforms also ensure that the art form is spread to various corners of the globe. This global exposure provides opportunities for paid live events and shows for the artist along with fame, recognition and creative satisfaction.

In this era of growing use and an override of technology over manual and individual-handled activities, there is a vast scope of expressing one’s musical creativity even without knowing how to play various instruments or having amazing vocals, but through various applications and music production tools and technology. The only requirement that one needs is a keen and sound musical sense and the sensitivity to convert their imagination into tangible musical notes expressing various moods, vibes, etc.

Music production has a few elements to understand and work on, starting with composing, arranging, sound designing & production that includes editing, mixing and finally, mastering. Blending all these steps, one creates an ambience, mood, expression and vibration of choice. Unlike the earlier times, technological tools have made the man so capable that anyone can combine the modern production methodology with their ideas and make fantastic musical productions in the comfort of his space.

As a career, music production has immense value and scope for growth with the increasing panorama of shows and movies across various platforms, rise of independent labels and productions, increasing demands in television, film and radio commercials and the understanding of the value given by sound productions in the form of electronic music and curated entities played in various lounges, pubs, clubs, etc.