The Role of Media in Promoting Hindustani Classical Music

Abstract

Media has been pivotal in preservation of art for ages. The traditions and cultures have been travelling across generations via media through centuries. And as the media experienced technological advancement, it became more potent and started playing even more crucial role. The ability of the media contents to reach to masses and the preservation of the content has allowed preservation and subsequent promotion of various art forms. This paper concerns with the Indian classical music and the role media played in promoting it. Cinema has been the prime carrier of the art form but other mediums too have played a significant role. The related literature suggests the same and provides evidence for the same. The literature however mostly relates to art in general with very little reference to Indian Classical Music. The objective of this paper is to study the perceived role of media in promoting Indian Classical Music. The study was conducted using survey method on 246 (N) respondents. The data was analysed using statistical analysis including ANOVA and T-Test to find the difference in opinions of the respondents categorised on various basis. The findings suggest that people strongly believe that media has been instrumental in promoting Indian Classical Music. The feeling however is not the same for all mediums but for some mediums like Radio and Cinema. People also believe that reality shows have brought Indian classical music to the fore though it still has not translated into the creation of greater opportunities leading to more financial freedom amongst the classical musicians.