Streaming, Royalties & Digital Rights : The Contracts That Keep Artists Poor

The Abba Story

ABBA changed the sound of popular music forever. More than just a chart-topping pop group, they combined impeccable songwriting, lush harmonies, and groundbreaking production to create songs that continue to resonate across generations. From their Eurovision-winning breakthrough with Waterloo to timeless classics like Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, and The Winner Takes It All, ABBA proved that great pop music can be both commercially successful and artistically sophisticated. This episode explores their rise from Sweden to global superstardom, the personal relationships that shaped their music, their enduring cultural impact, and the remarkable legacy that continues through Mamma Mia! and their innovative ABBA Voyage comeback

Acid House Music and its Indian Roots

The incredible true story of Charanjit Singh—the Indian musician who unknowingly created acid house music years before the world gave it a name. From his roots in a family of instrument makers in Bombay to shaping the sound of Bollywood as a pioneering session musician, Charanjit Singh was always ahead of his time. In 1982, he released Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat—an experimental album blending Indian classical ragas with electronic sounds from the Roland TB-303 and TR-808. At the time, it went unnoticed. But decades later, a chance discovery by a Dutch DJ brought it back into the spotlight, shaking the global music scene and rewriting the origins of acid house—long believed to have begun in Chicago in the late ’80s. This episode traces his journey—from innovation and anonymity to global recognition in his final years—and reflects on the many artists who create quietly, far ahead of their time. A story of genius, timing, and the strange ways the world eventually catches up.

Playback Singing

Playback singing — a uniquely Indian phenomenon — has shaped the soul of our cinema for over a century. From the musical roots of Nautanki to the first talkie Alam Ara, this episode traces how actors went from singing their own songs to giving way to legendary voices like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, and Kishore Kumar. A quick, fascinating look at how playback singing began, evolved, and why it still defines Indian storytelling today.

In Conversation with A & R Legend Atul Churamani

Music Stories welcomes one of the architects of India’s iconic 90s pop era. From discovering and nurturing stars like Baba Sehgal, Shaan, Shweta Shetty, and Adnan Sami to shaping a golden age of storytelling through music, this episode dives deep into how pop music was created, why it faded, and what today’s artists can learn from it. We unpack what “good music” really means, the myth of independent music in India, how streaming and digital platforms reshaped the industry (and mostly didn’t help artists), and why creators earn a fraction of what labels and publishers do. The conversation also explores publishing vs distribution, metadata, copyright, virality versus quality, marketing strategies for indie artists, and the future challenges facing the music business. A must-listen for musicians, creators, and anyone serious about understanding how music actually works—behind the scenes.

Streaming, Royalties & Digital Rights : The Contracts That Keep Artists Poor

Music makes billions. Artists make peanuts. Who really makes money from music—and who doesn’t? Streaming, Royalties & Digital Rights: The Contracts That Keep Artists Poor In Part 2 of this series on music copyright, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi is in conversation with Sanjay Tandon, a leading advocate for performers’ rights in the Indian music industry. Sanjay Tandon played a key role in shaping the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS) into a government-recognised copyright body and later went on to found ISAMRA—the Indian Singers and Musicians Rights Association. In this episode, he breaks down how copyright laws, royalty structures, and industry practices have historically failed singers and musicians, and what has changed—and still needs to change—in the digital era. Together, they explore who really earns from music, why performers were left out of the system for decades, and what fair compensation should actually look like in today’s music economy.