I remember speaking to Aanchal Shrivastava a few years ago. Full of energy and positivity, she stayed in my mind for a long time because of her wonderful singing voice. When she was brought to my attention again with her hugely successful track in 4 More Shots Please,  I saw how much she had grown not just as an artist but as a support to true artists.

Aanchal has co-founded TAA Music Label now, which was launched to provide a platform to the extremely talented, young, energetic, upcoming musicians and artists who deserve an opportunity, purely based on their phenomenal talent in order to make it big in the music industry. 

First, the unique name. She laughs and says TAA is relevant for two reasons: “the name itself starts with the sur and the taal, and the taal’s first letter is “taa” from “taa, dhin, dhin”. We are also three founders, and our names are Tarun, Aanchal, Ashish, so it automatically made sense to have TAA. It all fell in place for TAA Music Label. 

I ask her about the necessity of creating this label and she says: “I realized that independent music in our country is growing. There are many artists in our country that are brilliant and people need to hear them but they don’t have the money or the resources so they keep revolving through the same locked doors. Everyone only wants to pick those up who are biggies on social media platforms. But nobody wants to give the fresh talents a chance. I know because I have always been a singer and an artist. 

What if I was not from a well to-do family? What if I did not even one rupee for myself? TAA Music Label will help those who are artists and take them on, and get them to sing, to do their kind of music, we will produce it for them.”

Having spoken to Aanchal a few years ago, I remember her phenomenal singing voice and I remember thinking of wanting to hear much more of her. She recalls that time too, and she says she remembers that struggle. At that time, she was still holding down a day job and meeting with people in the industry in the evenings. But then she decided she could not so music part-time:  “October 2018, I quit everything. If I cannot earn as an artist, what is the fun in that? I put my corporate experience and artist knowledge and my own struggles to put TAA Music Label together because I understand that he or she – that artist - needs me more right now.”

Such insight can only come with some personal anecdotal reference though right? She says, “Every phase, the struggle is on but the level of struggle in your life differs. Right now, where I was three years ago, I was a start-up then also – that was when I was knocking on doors and trying to get them to sing their songs. Now, I am also a start-up but after three years, I have realized that if nobody gives me songs, I can sing my own songs. I can compose my own songs. This is a new struggle that I have gotten into. The struggle to make my own songs that will suit my voice and reach out to people, and one that will touch their hearts. 

I’ve had sour and sweet memories, both, to be honest. I feel that sleeping on the roads all the time is not the only struggle. The other struggle is when you have reached the people that you want to work with, they are listening to you right now, but they have not given me my song. But they all waited for me to come out with something outstanding…so I might as well become an independent artist. I think this is what I understood last year when I quit everything.”

With TAA Music Label, we are hoping many more artists will come to the forefront.