Till about a decade back, the life of a struggling musician involved performing at street-side corners, filming their ?local? performances on tape and then knocking at the doors of music agencies, tape in hand, eyeing that lucrative music contract that would change their lives. The advent of the Internet, more precisely YouTube, made it possible for an amateur musician to reach a global audience. But even on YouTube, reaching a global audience isn?t that easy, what with the numerous videos uploaded on the site daily under categories as diverse as sports, gaming, movies, among others.

Enter niche websites like BalconyTV. An exclusive platform for musicians, it describes itself as a daily online viral music show that features prominent, as well as amateur bands and musicians around the world. BalconyTV, as the name suggests, features performances on balconies without any fancy studio set-up: just a group of musicians jamming, shot on video and then uploaded online for free viewing and listening on BalconyTV.com. ?There is a huge difference in musicians uploading their own music (on YouTube) and being featured on BalconyTV,? says Kavi Bhansali, producer/co-founder, BalconyTV Delhi. ?When a band is featured on BalconyTV, they are seen, heard and treated in the same way as many world-class bands. For a musician, being featured alongside the likes of Mumford and Sons, The Script, Nouvelle Vague and Victor Wooten is a tremendous endorsement of their talent and potential.? Plus, BalconyTV is a rich resource for festival curators, music labels, creative people looking for music for their projects, collaborators and musicians alike. Many featured artistes have gone on to tour abroad, collaborated with musicians from other countries, etc, says Bhansali.

BalconyTV started in Dublin in June 2006, says founder Stephen O?Regan. The Delhi chapter was launched in February 2012 and has so far featured around 70 artistes. Of these, many have been amateurs who have gone on to become successful. ?BalconyTV Delhi launched in February 2012. We have had a show every week since then,? says Bhansali, adding, ?We have made some discoveries that we?re proud of, such as young Delhi singer Harpreet, who has done very well on the Indian circuit after he was introduced on BalconyTV last year; Kunal Dutta, another Delhi boy; a new band called Rishi Inc; Kabir Lok Bhajan Mandal from rural Madhya Pradesh and Azaan Khan, to name a few.?

?Many of the Delhi shows make it to the list of best shows on BalconyTV worldwide (rated as the Balcony TV ?show of the day?). Some of the newer bands we have featured, like Avi And The Uprising, have been invited to tour abroad after their videos went viral on BalconyTV Delhi (they got over 75,000 views in a week). Bands such as The Script or Mumford and Sons have been featured on BalconyTV before they went on to become big names internationally,? he says.

BalconyTV doesn?t focus on any particular type of music and has featured classic, rap and opera over the years. ?We define independent music broadly. For us, this could range from violin maestros Ganesh-Kumaresh to the electronic group, God?s Robots; young singers from the Langa community in Rajasthan to the gypsy jazz band, Peter Cat Recording Co, to Sumangala Damodaran, who has resurrected Malayalam songs of the revolution from the 1950s and so on,? says Bhansali.

BalconyTV Delhi, which posts a show every Friday (sometimes Saturday morning, as videos are uploaded on Friday from New York), receives over 100 requests a month, from well-established bands to absolute newcomers, says Bhansali. So how do they shortlist artistes? ?There are two elements to the selection?music we curate, source, hear about or discover through our networks and in our work and submissions. In addition to following musical talent that plays at the regular venues and festivals, we also look for folk and classical musicians through our networks. The second way is selection from the submissions we receive from bands who are interested in performing,? says Bhansali. ?The principal criterion is originality?the music must be original. A culture of writing and composing is what defines the identity of our independent scene. Bands writing and composing their own music are encouraged to send in links/samples of their music, which we hear and pick. Though many acclaimed artistes have been on BalconyTV, we also look to discover and feature new talent that hasn?t been heard. BalconyTV supports independent music, but defines ?independent? broadly. This could mean urban bands that haven?t found a platform,

as well as talented folk and classical musicians from rural India.?

After Delhi, there are plans of launching BalconyTV in Mumbai and Bangalore as well, says O?Regan.

Another initiative, Sofar Sounds, is a movement that brings music lovers together in secret living room locations to hear artistes and these recording are later uploaded online. Interestingly, the details of these pop-up gigs are always kept under wraps, with the date, time and venue announced only to its community of subscribers. ?Though we use YouTube, our USP is diverse, innovative and new music from across the globe. We curate a weekly global playlist and feature videos on our monthly global newsletter,? says Reema Kumari Jadeja, country leader, India, Sofar.

Sofar was started in London by Rafe Offer and Rocky Start in March 2009 in the living room of singer-songwriter and co-founder Passion Ate Dave. ?It is dedicated to bringing the best of new music to an intimate, unusual space or venue,? says Jadeja. Sofar, which has held these pop-up gigs in over 18 cities worldwide, was launched in India in February 2011 and has had four sessions in three Indian cities so far.

The first Sofar session in India was held in Pune in February 2011 featuring Shaa?ir+Func, Milind Date, Charudatta Phadke and Something Relevant. The subsequent sessions have hosted Mrigya, Half Step Down, Dualist Inquiry, Maseeha, Alisha Pais, Dischordian, Sid Cuotto, Nikhil D?Souza, Behrooz, Highway 61 and USP.

?We wanted to provide a platform to Indian artistes, signed and unsigned, to express themselves and to concurrently introduce a global audience to innovative music in India,? says Jadeja. ?Sofar gives a platform to emerging artists. We have seen the rise of certain artistes too. UK band Bastille are a fantastic case in point. Bastille, which is still very much

an emerging band, performed at Sofar London last year. Fast forward to 2013, Bastille has topped the UK charts with its debut album Bad Blood and is on a perpendicular career trajectory!?

But is this model financially stable? ?Sofar is a gratis movement,? says Jadeja. ?Sofar leaders finance the gigs in their respective regions. In some cities in Europe and North America, a hat is passed around where guests can make a voluntary contribution. We don?t do this in India. Revenue in the future shall come from the newly established synch representation, licensing and supervision arm of the organisation ?Sofar Creative. All Sofar performers are now being offered sync contracts, enabling us to pitch their music for films, commercials and videogames,? she says, adding, ?We are in the nascent stage, but hope to develop our catalogue. India is in our top three countries for sync as we see huge potential in the subcontinent.?

For BalconyTV?s O?Regan, the platform remains the same as it started: a fun idea. ?We will explore advertising/sponsorship and other such opportunities in the future,? he says. ?Right now, we are in the evolutionary phase. It will be interesting to see where we go from here.?