Why OML Dropped Artists From Its Roster

Swarathma, Parvaaz, The F16s, The Ganesh Talkies and Sandunes are no longer managed by the company. Founder Vijay Nair says the company is “pulling back and rejigging” things.

- Nirmika Singh

THE PAST FEW MONTHS HAVEN’T been the smoothest for bands and artists on Only Much Louder’s (OML) roster. While most of the big-name acts have parted ways with the company, others are on their way out. Bengaluru psychedelic/prog band Parvaaz, who had been with OML for two years, announced their exit this week with the news that they’re now signed to New Delhi artist management agency Big Bad Wolf. Acts like Bengaluru folk-rockers Swarathma, Kolkata’s pop-rock band The Ganesh Talkies, Mumbai-based producer Sandunes and Chennai rockers The F16s have begun self-managing. Tej Brar, former Head of Artist Management division at the company, too, quit earlier this month. Arjun S Ravi, former Director, left OML and joined Red Bull India last year.

Swarathma frontman Vasu Dixit explains that the breakup was a long time coming. He says, “Basically, we saw that OML has been quite busy with a lot of bands. Also lately, their focus has shifted towards comedy and mostly EDM. We felt that we were not one of the main bands… So we met Vijay (Nair; Founder & CEO, OML) and discussed the matter. He was very upfront about the fact that if they aren’t doing it right, maybe we should part ways. Later he got back saying it’s not happening and that they were dropping all the other bands too because OML’s managers needed training. Actually, we were quite relieved too because things weren’t happening productively.”