LOGIN DASHBOARD

    Features

    5 MIN READ

    A new app hopes to provide Nepali musicians with a fair deal

    Aishwarya Baidar, May 27, 2021, Kathmandu

    A new app hopes to provide Nepali musicians with a fair deal

      Share this article

    Noodle, Nepal’s first digital music marketplace, is looking to provide musicians with an equitable income and fans with an avenue to support the artists they love.

    In the past month-and-a-half, the Nepali rock band ASM’s latest album, ASM-I, has sold 79 copies. This might seem paltry when compared to the thousands that popular musical acts sell but for an independent rock band selling its music digitally, these are promising numbers, especially during a pandemic. 

    “In current times, these music sales are our sole source of revenue,” said 34-year-old Abhishek Mishra, ASM’s guitarist and vocalist. 

    For up-and-coming artists and bands like ASM, the pandemic has been difficult. Concerts and shows have been cancelled and even performing at bars and restaurants isn’t an option anymore. 

    “Gigs and concerts used to be a major part of our income, but there haven’t been many of those with the pandemic. Merchandise sales are just good enough for some tea and biscuits and YouTube money is a dead-end for us,” said Mishra.

     The pandemic might have halted most major sources of income for Nepali artists but it has also fast-tracked Nepal’s transition towards a digital economy. It was in the midst of the pandemic, on April 10, that Noodle, a new digital music market portal, launched, aiming to make it easier for musicians to sell their music and for fans to support the artists they like. 

    “We made Rs 20-25,000 in the last month-and-a-half, which is great considering the current scenario,” said Mishra. 

    Noodle currently boasts a roster of more than 60 artists, including bands like Albatross and Jindabaad, and artists like Bipul Chettri and Bartika Rai. Most of the artists are independent acts who produce and sell their music by themselves. But that also means they don’t have access to brick-and-mortar stores across the country to hawk their music. Noodle seeks to help them with that. 

    “Our goal is to make Nepal’s music scene fair and sustainable,” said Ritavrat Joshi, a co-founder of Noodle. “People don’t understand the expenses of producing songs. For any musician, producing a nine-song album can cost more than Rs 100,000.” 

    Joshi knows this very well, as he is also the bassist of the band Kamero. Despite the large costs of recording an album, there are few avenues through which to coup that investment.  

    “There were no options to directly put up songs for sale online so bands would mostly make money through concerts,” said Joshi. “And, there are sponsorship issues and the organizer's cut. None of these compare to direct album sales for artists.”

    Noodle charges a minimum of Rs 99 per song, a fair, standard price for both upcoming and veteran musicians, said Joshi. Artists, however, are free to set higher prices, depending on their production expenses. Albatross’s new single, for instance, is priced at Rs 150. Albums sell for anywhere from Rs 200 to Rs 500. 

    “Artists receive 70 percent of the revenue generated,” said Joshi. “Our system is transparent as artists themselves can monitor their sales figures.”    

    Compared to record labels and production houses that often claim a lion’s share of the revenue, Noodle seeks to be more equitable, especially for younger musicians who might just be starting out. This is mostly because the portal was founded by artists themselves. Alongside Joshi, Noodle’s co-founders are all musicians -- Sushant Roy, Bartika Eam Rai, Avishek KC, and Suzeena Shrestha.

    The primary motive behind the portal is to ensure that musicians like them are able to make a livelihood through music. Revenue from YouTube and Spotify are not enough for independent artists as these platforms require very large numbers of views and plays just to earn some decent cash. For instance, YouTube requires a minimum to 100,000 views to get monetized and even that only equates to about Rs 8,000-10,000, said Joshi. Spotify is better, paying between $3 to $5 per 1,000 streams but that is not enough to sustain a livelihood.

    “More challenges exist for Nepal, as we still do not have direct access to international transaction methods,” said Joshi. “But with local digital transactions, artists can now redirect their audiences from YouTube to Noodle to buy the album. In this way, even a band with a niche audience can receive some support.”

    Noodle currently has a total of 2,000 users across their iOS and Android apps, and their online web portal, noodlerex.com.np. The founders plan to expand to organizing shows and signing artists, along with producing and selling merchandise. 

    “The past year has been dedicated to bug fixes and our app has vastly improved over that timeframe, both in terms of functionality and design,” said Joshi. “We have only done a soft release and have yet to announce the official release. We are approaching more artists and they are also reaching out to us.” 

    For music fans, Noodle is an opportunity to refrain from the piracy that is rampant in Nepal and support the artists that they love. 

    Twenty-six-year-old Sagun Shrestha began using Noodle after Albatross shared a post on social media regarding the availability of their newly released single. 

    “On Noodle, I found so many songs of my favorite artists that were unreleased on other platforms.” Shrestha said, “I think the price is fine. I know some of these songs are already on Youtube but as a music lover, I really feel the need to support artists by buying their music.”

    Mishra, the ASM guitarist, agrees.  “People are too used to streaming songs on YouTube for free. That needs to change,” he said. “If you buy my music, then I can make more of it.”



    author bio photo

    Aishwarya Baidar  Aishwarya Baidar is a fashion blogger and a media studies student at Kathmandu University.



    Comments

    Get the best of

    the Record

    Previous Next

    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

    Features

    News

    5 min read

    Killing in the name of caste

    The Record - May 26, 2020

    The killing of a Dalit and his friends in Rukum reveals Nepal’s dark underbelly

    Culture

    4 min read

    More cats for Kathmandu

    Shristi Sherchan - November 29, 2021

    Nepalis by and large tend to prefer dogs as pets but cats, once maligned as bad omens, are slowly winning hearts.

    Perspectives

    6 min read

    COVID-19 Exposes Globalisation’s Labor Market Precarity

    Mohd Ayub - March 22, 2020

    The sporadic global events keep reminding us that the fate of these workers is prone to fragility the same as the country’s sources of foreign revenues.

    Photo Essays

    3 min read

    Aging and the elderly

    Kalpana Pun - March 5, 2021

    Aging gracefully has little to do with skincare and facelifts; aging with dignity is about honoring your age, your journey, and your being.

    Perspectives

    3 min read

    Retelling indigenous Tamang people’s torment and trauma through sacred seeds, handmade paper, and slates

    Sanjib Chaudhary - September 24, 2021

    The seeds are ingrained in Tamang culture and rituals

    Features

    5 min read

    MPs pressured into returning their Dashain allowances

    The Record - October 19, 2020

    The earlier decision to provide festival perks to lawmakers—even as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the general populace—has been widely panned

    Longreads

    Culture

    15 min read

    The social construction of Balen Shah

    Pragyan Thapa Ghimire - June 20, 2022

    Shah, at least on paper, embodies many of the popular attributes people look for in a leader. But shrewd political branding does not equal efficient and effective political action.

    Perspectives

    5 min read

    Sooner or later we all face death. Will a sense of meaning help us?

    Warren Ward - October 19, 2021

    The last thing the Buddha said to his followers was: ‘Decay is inherent in all component things! Work out your salvation with diligence!’

    • About
    • Contributors
    • Jobs
    • Contact

    CONNECT WITH US

    © Copyright the Record | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy