He has received a certificate and a digital plaque from The European Independent Music Commission, the official body that represents the 26-year-old top 100 chart.
With his recent release ‘Turning Back Time’ making it to the number one spot on the Euro Indie Music Charts this week, singer-songwriter Vineet Singh Hukmani has become the first ever artist in the world to have six of his singles reach the number one position on the much-coveted European Independent Top 100 music charts.
“I feel ecstatic, yet very grounded as getting so many radio stations in Europe and their listeners to vote for my singles is truly humbling. But I also feel a sense of redemption because I took time to understand and apply the rules of how music is discovered globally. I feel relieved to see a hardworking plan, working!” he says.
He has received a certificate and a digital plaque from The European Independent Music Commission, the official body that represents the 26-year-old top 100 chart. The music charts take into account the radio airplay in 24 European nations. This is the oldest and most revered European independent music chart which represents all genres of independent music. While it considers radio pay-outs across Europe, it is also considered for global charts as artists from all world countries are featured here.
“It is a lot of hard work being genre agnostic and to release global quality music for radio stations all over the world every 45 days. It surely feels great to get such recognition and I thank all the radio stations across Europe and their listeners for continuously voting my music to the number 1 slot,” he adds.
Hukmani began his journey of achievements with the single ‘Dreaming out Loud’ in the fifth week or week 5 of 2021 , following up with five more number ones such as ‘Can I go Now’ (Week 8), ‘Jab The World’ (Week 13), ‘So New’ (Week 20), ‘i Pray’ (Week 24) and now, his latest single ‘Turning Back Time’ (Week 31).
“I just wanted my music to be heard and loved on the world’s best radio stations. That is a childhood dream. Having a dream is one thing but understanding how it's done is a different ball game. From selecting a clear genre for every single, to ensuring a song has repeat listening value to production and mastering and doing this at a pace of a single being released every 45 days is fun but a lot of hard work too. My goal is to be consistent and these results are proof that it’s a good goal to have!” says Hukmani who hopes that his achievements lead Indian indie musicians to think about making music which is better aligned to the popular palette.
“I am glad if I can set an example and I am happy to see other musicians from India dominate the world charts consistently! However there is still one very important learning to communicate… Indie is not a genre. Indie means you are independent of a label but your music still needs to be of a popular mainstream genre for it to be played on world radio stations and therefore, then top the charts! If you create for the world market, the radio stations will play it. If you create for a niche audience in India, it will not work on the other side of the world. When you decide you want to be on a world radio station, you have to accept you are competing with the best global label artists,” he says.
Hukmani is also founder of greatsong.world, a foundation that trains artists from Asia on how to produce and place great quality music on radio in the US and Europe. The foundation also helps artists discover e-music earning strategies and on how to compete for top level world awards like the Grammys and Eurovision.
"The global music and radio market is a 50-billion-dollar market. The Indian equivalent including Bollywood, regional etc. is 0.26 billion. If you are an ‘English music’ artiste there is no choice but to delocalise yourself and aim global. There are 220,000 global radio stations playing music independent artists and those artists that pass that trial by fire are picked up by the labels. Once you are discovered on global radio, your global streaming stats start picking up,” he says.
“E-music revenue due to sync placements and leasing also picks up. India is a Bollywood mainstream market but on the other side of the world, music has the power to fuel a multitude of radio stations without needing film to support it. That is where the real action is!” adds Hukmani, who is set to release his next single, a funk-pop song titled ‘WTF. Where’s the Fun’ on August 26th.