Punjabi singer (and now an actor) Mika Singh is being shown good money on his recent world tour across the US, Canada and West Indies. Taking a quick pit-stop Mika shares his views on money, music industry, the market for Indi-pop and his fledging career as an actor with Radioandmusic.com (RnM).

Excerpts:

Your appearance fees is up to Rs 30 lakhs for the world tour across US, Canada and West Indies. Is the international music tour circuit lucrative enough to support such hike?

Yeah, I think it is reasonable and the international music tour circuit can afford the price as they respect the talent especially music than the fees an artist asks for.

Can you briefly tell us the different slabs and fees for performing artists in these kinds of tours?

See, I can’t comment on this. Basically, it depends upon the popularity of every artist. Every artist charges as per what they feel should be charged and we say... ‘Artists are priceless’…so how can you talk about figures here.

What is the response to Indian pop/ Bollywood music in international markets? Which are the biggest markets? What is the average size of the audience and ticket price?

Amazing. India has variant music and internationally it is very popular. Punjabi songs, rock, bollywood are very popular. Moreover, my songs are very peppy and grooving, so people enjoy it very much. My numbers fit every occasion as they are very ‘Happy Happy’ and ‘Balle Balle’. I just know my audience is my biggest market no matter from where they are. And size, I cannot specify- it’s always enormous.

Are there any untapped markets?

Yes, I want to perform in South America, Brazil, Africa, because I haven’t performed there yet and I think these places have a very high taste for music so want to groove the audiences there.

Can the Indian tour circuit ever match the international tour circuit? What are the stumbling blocks? Over the years how many tours have you undertaken?

Indian market is very different and will always remain different from the International market because both the music cultures are different from each other. As far as I have come across in my tours, Indian music is accepted globally and I like the fact that we not only match but also stand out as compared to international tour circuit.

Is the local population- overseas like in the US/ UK or Australia- also starting to like Indian pop music?

Yes. I can say that as I have performed around the world and believe me, the response from the locals out there is ‘Fatte’. And I guess ‘Indian music’ is appreciated all over the world and I proudly say so.

You are an established name in Bollywood and Indian pop scene. Now you are making your debut as an actor in ‘Balwinder Singh Famous Ho Gaya’. What is your experience in front of camera like?

It’s not for the first time that I am facing the camera- I have done that in the 90’s with my music video albums. As an actor, yes, it has been a different experience and working with Shaan as a co-actor is fun.

What do you enjoy more: playback singing or performing live?

Both are different things- ‘Waheguru Ji ki Kripa hai’ (By God’s Grace)I am doing both the things successfully and  I enjoy both. But performing live has a different experience because it’s very spontaneous and I can witness my audience enjoying my songs which I really miss in playback singing. I am not in India, so missing everyone out there, all my friends and family.