Everything free, in one place: a start-here toolkit, a reading list, the full resource library, and the Playbook for independent Indian artists. Selected and maintained by Siby John and Karishma Changroth.
Most "resources for musicians" pages are a wall of affiliate links. This one is not. Everything here is free, and everything here is something we actually use, or would hand to an artist we work with.
The independent scene in India has never lacked talent. What it has lacked is honest, specific help: what a release actually needs, where the money really comes from, and who is worth pitching. The toolkit, the guides, and the reading list below are our attempt to put that in one place, in plain language, with no course to buy at the end.
Start with the toolkit if you are releasing music. Read the scene guide for your city, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune or Goa, to understand the scene you are in. Use the reviewer database when you have something ready to pitch. And if you would rather have a team work through it with you, that is what the programme is for. Nothing here is gated: take what is useful, and leave the rest.
Eight documents that apply to almost every independent Indian artist in their first two years. Start with these before working through the full toolkit below.
Selected by Siby John and Karishma Changroth, not aggregated or sponsored. The criterion is simple: does this change how an independent Indian artist thinks about their career. The list grows when something worth adding appears, not on a schedule.
Not trade press, people. Individual writers, operators and artists whose lived experience and point of view is the value. Read the publishers for news; read these for a way of thinking. India first, then the sharpest global voices.
Find more gems: The Music Directory catalogues individual music writers, and each person above recommends others inside their posts. And for the hard numbers (not people, but worth it): the EY × IMI India report, Spotify Loud & Clear, and the IFPI Global Music Report.
79 working documents, templates, and checklists across five kits. Open in Google Docs, make a copy, and adapt to your situation.
Legal agreements, business setup, competitive analysis, and intake processes. Work through these before signing your first artist.
Everything for a live event or multi-city tour: budgets, contracts, logistics, crew lists, and merch tracking.
Production agreements, metadata, rights registration, distribution, and licensing. Cover these before any track goes live.
Release timelines, playlist strategy, radio, press, social media, and post-release reporting. Build around the release calendar.
Invoicing, bookkeeping, royalties, grants, and personal finance, built around India's tax and payment environment.
44 sections covering identity, production, distribution, revenue, live performance, venue booking, rights, and more. India-specific, free, no label required.
Straight, India-first answers to a hundred of the questions independent artists actually search: streaming royalties, distribution, releases, PR and EPKs, live and booking, and IPRS, copyright, and publishing.