for a HISTORY OF REMIX – Bhagwati Prasad

TRANSFORMATION OF A REHABILITATION COLONY TO A MARKET: MADIPUR

Around 1967 a big population staying in the jhuggies at Sant Nagar in South Delhi was uprooted and resettled at a plot adjacent to Madipur Gaon in West Delhi. The area came to be known as Madipur JJ Colony and was divided into 6 blocks, A, B, C, D, E and F. Now began a struggle to reorient oneself in a new land, a new place. Most of the people staying here come from Rajasthan and belong to the lower classes and Scheduled Castes and Tribes – Sindhi Meghwal Khatik (Rajasthan), Jatav Khatik (Mathura), Berwas and the Valmiki castes. The Raigar Sindhis and the Jatav castes were primarily in the shoe trade. The Khatik Jatav castes either dealt in scrap or repaired pressure cookers. The Valmikis were involved in sanitation work. Every lane had a majority of one caste or the other. Apart from a market there were broad streets and a park in every block. This is a demographic portrait of the old Madipur.

It has been 30 years since this place came up. Change is now evident in every block, market, house and road. With the growing requirements of people, the space allocated by the government has gone up from 22 yard plots to 25/30 yard plots. Houses adjacent to the roads have been converted into shops. These dwellings have expanded not only laterally but also upwards, single stories being built up into 4 and 5 story houses. On each floor, at least 5 -8 people stay as tenants. The growing population contributes not only to the local housing but to the expanding market economy as well.

In the market one notices that along with shops catering to daily needs there are a variety of others ranging from shoe repair to media goods. Shops selling audio cassettes are prominent. Interestingly, each looks different from the the other, due to competition. Apart from filmi and non filmi tapes, these shops stock cassettes in Garwali, Kumaoni, Nepali, Rajasthani, Bhojpuri, Punjabi and other languages, catering to the variety of people who have come to stay here. Shopkeepers talked about the changes in the market and the technology and the ups and downs in their business. They provide interesting stories about the new trends coming up in the music markets.

Although these people are not highly educated, they can understand the ebb and flow of the market. So far they have survived these swings. How the changes in the relations between shopkeepers, companies, suppliers, local consumers and law enforcers affect the nature of the market only the future will tell us.

History of Remix

‘Presenting old songs in a new package’ is how one may attempt to define remix music \x{2013} just like old wine in a new bottle. In recent years, remix culture has dominated the Indian music industry to an extent that it has become more popular than film songs and the singers. Because of the revealing videos that the songs accompany, a section of society calls it a ‘vulgar’ and unacceptable, and therefore is asking for a ban on such songs. However, the younger generation is increasing enjoying these songs. The history of Indian music reveals that the ‘remix’ is at least 20 years old. It may be divided into following 4 stages:

Stage One: begins around 1983 when old songs were given new voices. T-Series was the most prominent company which began remixing. The cassette covers of remix songs  carried the photos of the main singers like Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, and others, and along with them, smaller photos of  new singers like Kumar Shanu, Sonu Nigam, and others were printed. The cassette titles used to be – ‘In Memory of Md. Rafi’, ‘In Memory of Kishore’, ‘Melodies of Mukesh’, etc. Thus the new singers got a good publicity.

Second Stage: The songs were the same but they were given new dimensions. Disco beats were added to the songs which attracts the listener even today. These disco beats were popularised as \x{201C}jhankar beats’came in vogue around 1987. No matter who the original singers were, mixing beats with the music became a fashion. This concept became so popular that even the film audio cassettes started including ‘Jhankar Beats’.

Stage Three: It began around 1990. Use of western pop became very widespread. The names of the singers and the tunes became secondary and were replaced by the creators of new tunes. Cassettes began to be sold in their name. One of them was ‘Bali Sagu’. It was a new experiment and became popular. It influenced the films after a few years.
All songs of films began to be remixed. For Instance, the remixed versions of songs from the films ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’, ‘Taal’, ‘Pardes’, etc, became very popular.

Stage Four: or the present phase can be called the Golden Age of remix culture. The songs have fast beats and lot of western music. From big and small parties, hotels to marriage barats, etc, special DJ’s are organised for people to dance to their tunes. The bridegroom’s side even demands for a DJ along with other things. Keeping these demands in view, the music companies have begun  remixing beats with english expressions which helplessly forces people to shake a leg or two. But in the present stage the credit of ‘hit’ remixes goes to their video.

The songs are known more by the models acting in them rather than by their singers or music composers. The remix video age has, on the one hand, given a new life to Indian music industry, and on the other hand, has invited the accusations of the Indian culture having been ‘distorted’ and ‘vulgar’.

Remix Video

Now-a-days the music channels are full of remix videos. If we try to understand the processes of making video, then we will be able to understand the reasons for their popularity. Actually, most of the people who are working in the remix video industry were earlier in the field of advertising. Therefore they very well know what appeals to  the different tastes of the different customers. They understand the range of images which can exactly stay with the audiences for a long time. Thus, they began making use of their own creativity and imagination to the best of their ability. The remix video has gripped the minds of the people \x{2013} especially the young. Popular Videos have those images/ scenes which the targetted audience can identify with and also eagerly wish to see.

For Instance, the scenes like the lowering of jeans in the ‘Kaanta Lagaa…’, wet bodies of the girls, beer bars, pubs, restaurant, bear-bar, etc. Actually, three or four female models are selected, locations and lyrics are fixed and the videos are made. Then these remix videos are aired on almost all TV channels and their market is created.

‘Kaanta Lagaa…’!, how deep?

The remixed song \x{2013} ‘Kaanta Lagaa…  released last year (2003) by T-Series has taken  today’s remix music to new heights. The song’s popularity has has not just seen the restlessmess in the minds/hearts and of its targetted audience, but another section of the society has also objected to it; and therefore the Information and Broadcasting Ministry notified five music channels to prohibit airing it. Yet, there has been no reduction in the popularity of this cassette. Not only this; its words and tunes have been used for other seasonal songs. For example, its tune and wordings were used to inspire the Kanwariyas in August: ‘Kaanta Lagaa…’ became ‘Ghonta Lagaa…’! Then, during Janmashtami, it became ‘Taala Khulaa…’  In October 2003 was released a bhajan ‘Mela Lagaa…’ which topped the Navaratra market. Then there was comedy song ‘Chaanta Lagaa…’, equally enjoyed by its listeners. The new year and Holi are yet to come. We are likely to see new versions of this cassette. The ‘Kaanta’ is so deep that it has caused a boom in this type of video albums. A new tradition has been laid down in the music industry, opening new channels for garnering bigger profits.

COPYING TECHNIQUES

Pirated Compact Discs are also called copied or ‘fake’ CDs in the local jargon. There is a boom nowadays in the CD markets. Traditionally, Lajpat Rai Market and Palika in Connaught Place have been considered the hub of ‘pirated cds’. Not any more. People can find CDs in the market places nearby at much cheaper rates and these smaller markets have taken over the work from the bigger centralised markets and are conducting the trade with a lot of tactical intelligence. The work has become a cottage industry in these localities. The economy operates according to the rules of demand and supply. This is also turning out to be an industry with small investments and high returns, due to the fact that the equipment required is available at very low costs:
A blank CD \x{2013} Rs.3 to7.
An old computer \x{2013} Rs.10 to 15, 000.
A copy writer to copy CDs: Rs.4 to 5000/-.
Copy writers for 2 to 5 copies: Rs.20 to 25,000/-
Copy writers for 5 to 10 copies: Rs.25 to 30,000/-

Add Rs.2 to 3 for printing film labels. Audio-tape covers for the films provide readymade material. The most essential item is the master copy. This is duplicated as soon as the prints are released and is easily available for about 2000/-. Now a pirated CD is ready. With markets opening up closer to your place, all you have to do is to take the CDs to the shop. You park your vehicle away from the shop, show the product, fix the price and take the orders. Then, at a fixed time you make the delivery and come back on another day for the money. Where the deliveryman goes after that is anybody\x{2019}s guess.

Bargaining is crucial in retail sales as well. The customers know when a movie will be available, go to the shop on the expected day of release and get the CD, or rent it out to have a look. So a whole trade network has emerged around entertainment which involves makers, deliverymen, retailers and customers.

MP3
MP3 CD is a new, commonly available CD in which about 150 songs are recorded with the help of computers and converted into a special CD. Today these CD s have posed serious competition to the market for original CDs, since they are available at one third the price of an original CD. These CDs have not only affected the market of the audio CDs but also the market for the music systems. All the major companies manufacturing music systems have started including an MP3 player in their machines and try to keep prices low because of competition from the cheap systems now available in the market.

Raid in Madipur

The Madipur Village lies adjacent to the Madipur Colony. Of course, it doesn’t look like a village at all. There are tall buildings, tarred, broad roads, and several factories. Perhaps it can be said that the existence of factories is the sole logic for the construction of buildings. The factories produce hosiery, shirts, trousers etc.

Factory workers live in this village. Some have taken houses on rent, and others live in the factories. Sundays are off, and so the day for relaxing, roaming around. But Saturday nights have a different importance altogether. That’s the time for watching films.

The cassette shops here rent out some cassettes, but mostly CDs. Every shopkeeper/owner possesses five to six video CD players. And business is best on Saturday evenings. A set-up comprising a VCD player, a colour television and four movies is rent out at rates between Rs. 120 and 150.

There was a police raid here a few days ago. All the shopkeepers were apprehended and asked to pay up Rs. 5000. At first, the shop keepers refused. But there was little they could do. The police simply stated that not only do you not have licenses to run video parlours, but moreover you rent out pirated VCDs. If you don’t pay up, we’ll confiscate all your material.

What could the shop keepers do? They all handed over the five thousand rupees without another moment’s hesitation.

Among the shopkeeeprs is Mohd. Faizal. He said, “At least this will get the policemen to leave us in peace”. According to him, the maximum earning is from the Blue Film VCDs, because those are usually carried home along with one or two other VCDs. And Blue Film CDs also get sold. That’s why, he says, we don’t want to close shop.

“Four to five rentals every night mean an earning of Rs. 600. And all the material returns to the shop by morning. Why would we want to close a business such as this?”

This much is clear that the police is aware of the weak links in this business, and uses them to its advantage to earn money. But the shop keepers also know that if they have to continue their business, they will have to bear with these small injuries.

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