THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Now that social media has taken the world by storm, everyone’s a creator and sharing is the norm. That’s exactly what Smule—a San Francisco-based startup—focussed on while creating its various music-related apps. With more than 50 million monthly users onboard their karaoke platform—almost twice the population of Australia—singing and recording millions of tunes every day, there are bound to be a few budding superstar vocalists.
Kerala’s Megha Josekutty is an apt example of a Smule user turning professional, as she’s already been roped in to sing in films like Aravindante Athidhikal and My Story.
Mic check
“Our country has the second-largest Smule user base in the world,” explains the app’s Indian ambassador, Prasad McCoy.
The 34-year-old entrepreneur elaborates, “Just like Facebook, users congregate on various groups within the app with names like Music Cafe, and so on. I represent Tarang, which is a community that brings together/moderates several Smule groups. I’m totally excited about the upcoming meetup by the Strings group in Kochi this weekend.
”Another instance of users ‘going pro’ includes immensely popular Malayali users forming their own bands, like Hashtag to compose original songs. Occasionally, these singers step out of the confines of social media and meetup offline: to collaborate, seek new opportunities, or just chill out with new friends—as will be witnessed at the second edition of Strings’ Smule Sangamam.
“I’m told several music directors are tentatively expected at the event including big league composers Berny-Ignatius and Alex Paul; possibly scouting for new talent,” states Strings programme co-
ordinator Anu Kurisinkal.
The meetup is on August 12. From 9 am onwards. At Udyan Convention Centre.