Girish ‘Bobby’ Talwar, Co-Founder Only Much Louder (OML)

Girish ‘Bobby’ Talwar started his career as a lawyer with a specialization in media and entertainment law. While a bassist at one of India’s biggest rock bands, Zero, he started working with Vijay Nair and soon co-founded Only Much Louder with him. He was a judge at Channel [V]’s Launchpad, a reality show searching for India’s best rock bands. He won the Indian Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2007. To follow Young Creative Entrepreneur Awards on Facebook click here. To find out more about the British Council Young Music Entrepreneur Awards click here. Tell us more about how you started OML?

I was part of a band called Zero and Vijay Nair was managing my band and a couple of others. We interacted and decided to start something of our own. I was working as a lawyer then and decided wanted to start something of my own in the independent Indian music space which would cater to anything that was non bollywood.

What kind of services does OML provide?

We started working with independent artists that progressed into artist management and music related events. Then we realized that artists not only need management but have to put out albums. There were no record labels around that were willing to cater to independent artists. We started a company called Counter Culture records. We have put out 8 such albums.

We wanted create new platforms for artists to showcase themselves to communities and audiences and started Babblefish production with a colleague Sameera. We were making music videos and online content for bands through Babblefish. To further enhance our presence in digital and online space we started OML digital which will be launched next month. That platform will enable public at large to communicate and interact with independent non film bands .

Motherswear is the latest brand launched by OML, focused on creating exciting music festival properties. With a little help from Vishal Dadlani, we aim to create a slew of festivals .

Which are the bands you have worked with?

Through its booking agency, The Syndicate, OML acts as a one-stop shop for anyone looking to book an artist or a band for a show. In addition to the Syndicate, OML manages some of India’s top independent artists including Pentagram, Swarathma, Tough on Tobacco and Shaiir + Func.

How was your experience with YCE?

There were no such awards to recognize music entrepreneurs. I interacted with 10 other entrepreneurs from other countries. We spend 2 weeks meeting industry professionals, going to shows and concerts like Glastonbury festival. We were discussing music and music business with industry leaders. It was an experience like to other interacting with music entrepreneurs from different countries and learning more about the independent music scene there.

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