Streaming gives artists a boost

The streaming wars have opened up new avenues for music that might not have found expression in mainstream cinema and pop. Homegrown indie musicians are reaping the benefits

- Bhanuj Kappal

For years, Moko Koza has reigned as the biggest star of Nagaland's nascent rap scene. The Kohima-born multilingual rapper—he makes music in English as well as Nagamese and local dialects—is a household name in the tiny state, thanks to his pioneering fusion of Naga folk and hip-hop. But, like many artists from the nation's periphery, he struggled to make a dent in the Indian mainstream.

Then Aladdin—a song he first released in 2020—was picked to soundtrack a scene in season 2 of Amazon Prime Video's neo-noir crime-thriller Paatal Lok. His streaming numbers suddenly shot up. Fans of the show flooded the song's YouTube comment section, posting endless variations of "came here from Paatal Lok." Now he's in talks with the production team for a different hit Prime Video action-drama, who also want to feature his music in their upcoming season.

"For an artist coming from a small place like Nagaland, who doesn't make music in Hindi, it's really hard to get my music out there," says Koza. "So this (song placement) was a huge boost, and a great opportunity to introduce my music to a whole new national audience."

Video may have killed the radio star, as The Buggles' song goes. But for artists like Koza, the rise of video streaming means new opportunities—to get their music noticed, find new audiences and, crucially, new revenue streams. Streamers like Netflix, Amazon, Jio Hotstar and a bevy of local competitors have become vehicles for music discovery, with the power to propel artists to the top of the charts.