MUMBAI: Near to the end of August, Qyuki and YouTube led music initiative titled Jammin' set rolling, with one video after another, celebrating collaborations between mainstream and digital stars of the music industry. The path involved ten music videos, and the concert at the end of it to mark its success and unique effort in exploring possibilities in music community from another perspective.

So when the collaborators and thousands of attendees arrived at NSCI Dome on Friday, 11 November, all eyes were set on how the musicians flawlessly recreate their studio effort in a ‘live’ setting. With AR Rahman associated closely with the initiative (and Qyuki), actions were implemented to ensure music is the ultimate winner. And so it was. One performance after another, Jammin’ proved that music need not be consumed in its generic manners. Of course, at the end of the day, the Jammin’ concert was yet another live show with musicians doing what they do best. But Jammin’ needs to be applauded for what has been created – possibly a trend, a new idea or even an unforgettable live concert for some of these musicians involved.

Not only did Jammin’ allow these unknown, unheard musicians an exposure on mainstream front, but exposed them to the concept of world-class music videos featuring the faces of the established musicians of the current generation. Not many would disagree about the vitality of a music video and the possibility of outreach that arrives with the same.

Questions were raised by tabloids, including Radioandmusic, concerning the massive outreach of these collaboration videos in such a short duration. The trick worked for Qyuki, and the response at the concert exactly proves that. To a certain stretch, it also accredits Qyuki and YouTube’s risky effort. One of the commendable factors revolving around Jammin’ was the consistent support to the featuring digital stars, namely Shraddha Sharma, Sanam, Mumbai’s Finest and so on. The videos were uploaded on the artists’ channels, thus providing the necessary push on digital front and eventually on an overall basis. The 90-day initiative surely bore fruits, from Qyuki, YouTube and the digital stars’ perspective. As far as the established collaborators were concerned – Salim-Sulaiman, Clinton Cerejo or Mithoon – the musicians have effectively discovered new faces, voices and sounds to experiment with.

Sanam’s performance at the NSCI Dome at the concert further proves the power of digital channels, and the response from its fans surely act as a motivation to all those wondering right now if uploading a video on YouTube would do any good. Looking at the larger picture, a possible trend could be created, out of competition or even out of inspiration. Either way, artists need to look out for the ‘right’ medium to express, and fortunately for the YouTube stars involved in the Jammin’ effort, it’s a confirmed upward trajectory.