“Conversations with the musicians give us our edge”: Heena Kriplani, TuneCore India

Marketing | July 16, 2020 | Interview

Heena Kriplani TuneCore India Believe

TuneCore, a global digital music distribution platform for independent artistes headquartered in the USA, announced the launch of a dedicated offering for the Indian market (Tunecore.in) on 8th July 2020.

Globally, TuneCore claims to pay out over the US $1 million to musicians each day, thanks to partnerships with over 150 digital stores and streaming services across 100 countries. It charges an annual fee from independent artistes, while allowing them to retain all sales revenue and rights. The platform is part of a digital music company Believe.

TuneCore also announced the appointment of Heena Kriplani as Country Manager for India. While the platform has been helping Indian talent distribute music since 2006, Kriplani says the need for a localized tool became increasingly apparent, in an e-mailed interaction with EVENTFAQS. Being present in the market with its ears to the ground will help TuneCore pre-empt trends and productize new opportunities for talent, she contends. Tune in.

Please elaborate on your role at TuneCore India, and the launch of TuneCore.in.

At TuneCore and Believe, we’re firm believers and supporters of local, homegrown talent. TuneCore’s foray into India predates my arrival in this role. TuneCore has been serving local talent since 2006. When the need for a more localized tool was apparent, TuneCore began an in-depth study into the Indian music landscape. By the time I got here in January, I was absorbed into the creation of a thought-through and well-researched service that is now TuneCore India.

My role has been to bridge the company’s vision with on-ground requirements. We now have a tool that is poised to take the Indian artiste where they want to go. TuneCore is devoted to helping musicians become entrepreneurs who are in charge of their own careers.

How will the expansion benefit independent Indian artistes from the music industry?

TuneCore artistes everywhere enjoy many advantages like expansive distribution, artiste services ranging from YouTube Sound Recording Revenue collection service, Facebook/Instagram Music to TuneCore Fan Reviews.

The platform is for everyone – right from a first-time musician, to someone who just wants to experiment with music, to the established artistes. With a country like ours, the talent is immense, diverse, and dispersed. artistes emerge from bustling cities, small towns, and remote villages. We want to provide this talent the means to reach audiences. And there are no restrictions on numbers – some put out an EP a quarter, others upload multiple singles a week.

A local platform comes with many advantages. For one, TuneCore allows India-based artistes to avail our services and collect their revenue in local currency. Two – we’re here – with our ear to the ground – pre-empting trends and new opportunities. We’re working to productize these and make them available to artistes as they happen. Three, we’re actively introducing new stores into the distribution channel helping artistes to reach new local and global audiences. And four and most importantly – our artistes keep 100 percent of their revenue and 100 percent of their rights.

In addition, TuneCore India will consistently bring in international and local industry experts to contribute to our Blog that gives relevant, timely, and action-based advice to artistes on a variety of topics from songwriting to playlisting. The site currently has comprehensive guides on publishing by Achille Forler and another ‘Promoting Your Music’ written by Maed in India’s Mae Thomas.

Name a few independent Indian artistes associated with TuneCore.

There are so many! Several Indian artistes distribute through TuneCore. Top of mind is Kartik Shah of folk and world music band Maati Baani, who has been associated with TuneCore since their debut self-titled album back in 2016.

What kind of challenges do you have to face while managing artistes on an international platform like TuneCore?

The thing is, we don’t manage the artistes. We give artistes and their support teams the tools to manage themselves. We’re in the business of removing distribution challenges for the artiste. And we’re always learning from them. It’s conversations with the musicians that give us our edge.

Lastly, how is TuneCore India different from other music distribution platforms for artistes in India?

Artistes have always been, and will always be, our sole and exclusive focus of attention. TuneCore’s mission is to best serve artistes at all stages of their careers with respect and expertise, fairness, and transparency, in all local markets around the globe.

Why TuneCore? Because with us artistes receive 100 percent of their sales revenue and keep all their rights. They’re provided with a state-of-the-art artiste dashboard that allows them to track their digital music sales. We offer Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube monetization services. We provide fast delivery to over 150 stores across the globe. We facilitate world-class customer service and conversations with real people whose only job it is to solve your distribution problems. We bring you industry advice and education from folks who know what they’re talking about. And if that isn’t enough, there’s our introductory price.

I should add that besides emerging talent, we also have distributed for international stars like Russ, Nine Inch Nails, Drake, Ziggy Marley, Keith Richards, Jay- Z, Cheap Trick, Moby, and Public Enemy. These are artistes who could be anywhere else, and they choose TuneCore. That to me is the most honest endorsement there is.

While the platform has been helping Indian talent distribute music since 2006, Kriplani says the need for a localized tool became increasingly apparent, in an e-mailed interaction with EVENTFAQS.

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