Is Chennai’s Margazhi Carnatic fest losing sheen? Empty halls, ageing fans, unpaid artists
Chennai: Margazhi festival, an annual celebration of Carnatic classical music, used to be about packed halls and NRI crowds. In the last couple of decades, a lot of changed. The festival, which started on 15 December this year, didn’t see much fanfare. The halls were mostly empty.
Struggling with dwindling audiences, Carnatic music is in trouble as was evident in the Margazhi festival this year. It has had a direct impact on the economy of classical music form, said historian V Sriram.
In the discussion hosted by the ARTery, an arts magazine and promotional portal, Sriram presented the economic impact of the Margazhi festival and how worthwhile it is for artists and organisers.
Carnatic music–economy & fans
Discussing the economics of the Margazhi festival, limiting it only to Carnatic music, Sriram said that there are only 25 Carnatic music organizers hosting music festivals during the season, with a maximum of 1,350 music shows held throughout the year.
Despite the large audience base for Carnatic music, Sriram pointed out that even if all the sabhas were fully booked during the festival, only about 7,000 people could attend the event.
“Nevertheless, not all the halls get an audience except three or four top artists. We could not find an audience paying for the sabhas to watch Carnatic music during the Margazhi season. So, it is true that Carnatic music is facing a dwindling audience,” he said.
Amid growing concerns, singer TM Krishna’s return to the Music Academy after nearly a decade of boycott was a comforting moment for many Carnatic music enthusiasts. A decade ago, he had boycotted the academy, criticising its exclusion of non-Brahmin musicians. On 25 December, he returned to accept the MS Subbulakshmi Award, the highest honour in the Carnatic music world, and performed in a packed auditorium.
Krishna also expressed concern over the decline in music events across the city. “While we gather every December to celebrate Carnatic music, we must ensure it thrives year-round in the nooks and corners of our cities and towns. Musicians and institutions like The Music Academy should unite to revitalise and reimagine the smaller sabhas, many of which have been around for decades, ensuring that Carnatic music isn’t limited to just a few venues,” he said during his acceptance speech.
The Margazhi music festival began in 1927 when the Madras Music Academy celebrated its first anniversary. Although it was started to promote Carnatic music and classical dance, later it became a part of the people’s culture in some localities of Chennai including Mylapore and West Mambalam.
More sabhas like the Indian Fine Arts Society, Krishna Gana Sabha, and Narada Gana Sabha came up by the 1990s. Chennai’s Mylapore area became the cultural hub of the sabhas.
Beyond the capital city, the culture also expanded to a few temple towns including Madurai and Thanjavur.
Sriram began his research on the economy of the Margazhi sabha a couple of months ago.
Stating that his research numbers are subject to correction, he said that only 4,500 tickets are sold per day across all the sabhas, which would amount to Rs 1.68 crore for the entire season of 45 days.
“However, the canteen sales during the whole season would come to Rs 6 crore, which is not even close to the ticket sales during the season,” he said.
After Sriram presented the numbers, he responded to a question about the NRI audience for the Carnatic music festival by saying that it was a matter of the past.
“The peak NRI inflow was in 1990. After that, those numbers are steadily decreasing over the years. Because they are getting the Carnatic music there itself. Also, the NRIs who came in the 1990s are all ageing and the next generation NRIs are not that keen on Carnatic music,” Sriram said.
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Income problem
Carnatic music enthusiasts at the event questioned why the festival is losing its appeal among both audiences and artists, despite its role in boosting the popularity of performers.
Sriram reasoned that it was also a matter of the past. “As far as artists’ publicity is concerned, in the 1980s and 1990s, it was true that the season provided an opportunity for the artist to perform. But, today artists put their performances on social media and market themselves,” he said.
During the discussion, Sriram and art curator Ramanthan also shared that a lot of artists were not being paid for their performances during the Margazhi season.
“We are failing to pay for the performances we are getting. Like everything else in Tamil Nadu, Carnatic music is becoming a freebie in Tamil Nadu,” Sriram said.
He added that the situation became worse after the pandemic.
“The audience has become increasingly indisciplined. They appear to think that they need every performance to be delivered to their doorstep with a YouTube link,” Sriram said.
In these challenging times, Sriram emphasised that monetisation should become a serious priority. When an audience member suggested generating revenue from digital content, Sriram explained that it is not currently possible due to copyright issues.
Ramanathan added that even moving to digital platforms does not fetch much money.
“We tried a lot including the subscription models. But, there are not many subscribers to such content. It only works for one or two top artists, but not for everybody,” he said.
Most Carnatic music festivals take place in the Mylapore and West Mambalam areas of the city. Sriram explained that the strong fan base in these localities is the reason for sabhas being concentrated in these locations.
“But, there is also a question of what the art is doing to expand itself to other places. All art forms have a niche following, Carnatic music also does. Unless and until there is an effort to make more content that can bring in more people, it will continue to struggle,” he said, adding that Carnatic music is shutting its doors on more and more people, pushing them away from the art form.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)