Facebook organizes its first online live concert on World Music Day

Facebook organizes its first online live concert on World Music Day
Image source: Google

It brings together artists from several genres to celebrate the presence of music among humanity.

Facebook in collaboration with VH1 India and MTV beats is organizing its first ever online concert on the social media platform. It is being considered as a step forward to host a 24-hours-long concert on Facebook Live that will showcase 40 different artists from various genres. The program will kick start at midnight on June 21, and will continue till midnight of June 22. The performers include the likes of Zaeden, Darshan Rawal, Aastha Gill, SICKFLIP, Tony Kakkar, Su Real, Shahid Mallya, Nikita Gandhi, Tulsi Kumar and Amit Mishra.

According to Ferzad Palia, Head of Music, Youth and English Entertainment, Viacom 18, “Vh1 India and MTV Beats are powerhouses of music entertainment. Both brands have stayed ahead of the curve through specially curated formats and programming innovations that have successfully secured a loyal audience. As we take a giant leap ahead to celebrate our love for music we are happy to have Facebook as a partner in accomplishing this huge feat of India’s first ever 24-hour live musical fiesta. ‘Long Live Music’ is a clutter-breaking digital initiative that aims to bring together fans of diverse music genres at one place.”

Manish Chopra, head of partnership and Facebook India’s director, said, “We are happy to support media channels creating new content formats that are immersive and interactive and bring people.” Opening up a new medium for artists to present their work, Facebook has paved the way for many new musicians to reach out to a bigger audience. Delhi-born Aastha who came under the limelight through songs such as ‘DJ Waley Babu’ stated, in a conversation with the Hindu, “‘Party songs singer’ tag doesn’t affect me at all and I plan on celebrating this tag for World Music Day with pride on the live session and I think this is going to be a fabulous opportunity for me to make people dance to my music.” 

                                                 

         (Zaeden, Image source - Facebook)

She also stated, “Every aspiring musician in our industry who wants to be a part of the independent music scene should be very passionate about it and should not give up cause trust me it’s not easy to break in is difficult you know so I think they should really be passionate and consistent.” Zaeden, who made his mark with remixes of some popular musicians such as Maroon 5 and Justin Bieber, said, “Live experiences are undoubtedly the real deal. Not only are the ambience and the energy overwhelming but seeing thousands of happy faces dancing and singing in unison which make it all worthwhile.”

World Music Day is celebrated every year on the longest day, June 21, also known to be the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, ever since 1982, and today it is celebrated across 120 countries. When Maurice Fleuret became the Director of Music and Dance at the Minister of Jack Lang’s request in 1981, he applied himself to musical evolution of “music everywhere and concert nowhere”. Soon he found out a way to bring people down to the streets and the first music day took place in 1982 in Paris, known as the Fete de la Musique.

The festival has always served two purposes. Both amateur and professional musicians are encouraged to perform on the streets and that is done under the slogan, “Faites de la musique”. On the other hand, the free concerts make all genres accessible to public.