Dance music finds growing audience in India

LONDON/BANGALORE, India (Billboard) - On a typical midweek evening in Bangalore, India, club Pebble, stylish young Indian professionals relax quietly over post-work drinks. But every weekend, they're replaced by a flood of fans hungry to hear some of the world's leading DJs deliver the hottest dance hits.

In India's major cities, a new circuit of clubs in upscale hotels and shopping malls -- ranging from the 1,000-capacity Pebble to 4,000-capacity Elevate in Delhi -- is pulling in top international and domestic dance talent.

Just five years ago, India's dance music scene was a niche market centered on backpackers' haven Goa. Now, "there are club nights in every big city in India," says Toni Tambourine, press and public relations manager for dance label Defected in London. Defected regularly hosts club nights throughout India and last year released mix album "Defected in the House -- Goa '09" through Sony Music India.

The scene's expansion is mirrored by Goa's three-day Sunburn dance festival, which has grown from 6,000 attendees at its inaugural event in 2007 to more than 20,000 last year, according to organizer PDM Entertainment. Sunburn 2009 (December 27-29) featured international DJs like Roger Sanchez and Armin Van Buuren, with an audience that PDM says consisted of 90 percent Indian fans and 10 percent overseas tourists.

BEYOND THE DANCE FLOOR

Such popularity is translating into music sales. Dutch DJ Tiesto's local label Times Music, for example, says his 2007 album "Elements of Life" has sold more than 22,000 units -- on par with the biggest Western pop/R&B acts in India's Bollywood-dominated market.

Bollywood soundtracks' absorption of dance music elements has also "accelerated its popularity," says DJ Ma Faiza, founder of Pune-based dance label Masti Music.

During the past five years, soundtracks to major Bollywood films like "Love Aj Kal" and "Chance Pe Dance" have begun adding club-friendly dance remixes of two or three tracks. "Bollywood is mixing electronic sounds with Indian music and producing some great songs," Bollywood singer-songwriter Salim Merchant says.

Tambourine also cites India's emerging middle class and its increasing online access to Western music for helping boost dance's popularity.

British DJ Paul Oakenfold agrees, saying, "There's a lot of young kids that have got money and want what's going on around the rest of the world." Oakenfold, who's been playing in India regularly since the mid-'90s, says the crowds are growing and he's "getting a lot of options" to return.

But Indian dates can present challenges. With DJ fees in India typically lower than for European and U.S. dates, national bookings need to be tightly packaged together to keep costs down, and shows must have sponsorships "in order to work financially," says Gareth Cooke, events booker at dance label/promoter Ministry of Sound in London.

Accessing the Indian market has also proved problematic for some Western companies. Ministry of Sound's first Indian club, in New Delhi, closed in November 2007 after less than a year following a dispute over license fees with local partners, but Cooke says a return to club operation in India is "always a possibility." U.K. dance festival the Big Chill also has yet to return since staging a 2007 event in Goa.

Nonetheless, executives remain confident of further growth. This year's third annual Indian leg of the Ministry of Sound world tour (featuring DJs Jamie Williams and Ivan) consisted of six shows in seven days, wrapping April 11. Sponsors included liquor company Seagram and Danish beer brand Tuborg.

"Youth culture in India is very receptive to new stuff, especially Western music," Tambourine says. "It's an untapped market with huge, huge potential."