KOCHI: Are you an aspiring singer, songwriter or musician who has been finding it hard to catch a break? Take the social media route, says Shan Sherif, a singer and songwriter who found himself an audience online. “Everyone thinks you need a lot of money to make a name in the music industry. That is not true,” says 29-year-old Shan, who is a member of DJ-producer trio Savage Citizens. The team recently collaborated with a Los Angeles artist Distant for a track named ‘Boulevard’.
“I was able to collaborate with international artists without the backing of a record label,” says Shan. He adds that he has collaborated with artists from Portugal and Amsterdam for his previous releases Habibi Eayan and One More Night. “Both have been signed with labels from the Netherlands. I have also worked with artist Anastrixx from India,” he says.
“We released a track named ‘Daydreamer’ under an American label ‘Fresh & Paid’. It was played by team Karikku in one of their latest episodes,” he added. Shan has performed at Sunburn campus and Vh1 supersonic campus. “It was a great experience to play with national and international artists like Merrie Farrai, Paris and Simo, and Sartek,” he said.
However, with the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the entire world, live performances have gone mute. But that has not stopped Shan, who launched a YouTube channel named ‘Talk Out Loud’. “This channel gets various artists and celebrities to share their story. The aim is to motivate the younger generation of talented musicians to chart their own paths instead of getting held back by the thought of investment,” he said.
According to him, platforms like Spotify are avenues that musicians can utilise. “I have been doing that. Some of the well-known musicians in the North and foreign countries are doing it. So, what’s stopping us? Apart from the exposure, you are paid a royalty based on the number of streams. So it is a win-win situation,” says Shan. He urges aspiring musicians to make the most of the social media limelight and give wings to your dreams.