“This is probably going to sound like a cliché, but when we started the label there were no expectations, there was no long-term goal,” says the Sydney-based Ponniah. “We were just doing something that we’d always wanted to do, but we also had to just pay the bills. We had a bit of success and built on that but we still have an extremely long way to go.”
Ponniah will share his experiences at a Music Listening Panel at Face The Music, where Ponniah and other industry panelists will give participants the opportunity to submit an unmarked CD with one song for consideration. Songs will be played at random in 45 second snippets before panelists give their feedback on possible radioplay, song styling and originality.
The panel will look to analyse trends and determine why certain music connects with an audience, though Ponniah admits 45 seconds is an awfully short amount of time to make accurate determinations regarding a musician’s future. “You don’t want to tear apart someone’s dreams if you don’t like the song, but it’s also tough to wrap your head around a song when you only hear 45 seconds,” he says, stating that he’s probably going to be “helpful by being critical.”
“You’re speaking to young people so you definitely want to address things,” he continues. “I’d never want to be too critical and destroy someone’s confidence. Even if someone doesn’t find success the first time, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t keep trying until you get it right.”
Being a part of Face The Music isn’t an everyday occurrence for Ponniah. He admits that he doesn’t attend many of the country’s music conferences, but sees a difference with Face The Music. The conference is, as Ponniah says, “targeted towards young people”, and as many of the artists on the I OH YOU roster are also of a younger demographic, he enjoys the opportunity. If anything, the Face The Music panel allows Ponniah to be a part of something that certainly could have helped him when he was younger. “When I was growing up, at least to my knowledge, there weren’t these sorts of things available where people could talk directly to people in the industry about what they’d want to do one day,” he says. “I think they’re great.”
Yet in 2013, with music having turned into a commodity that is as temporary and as easily replaced as anything else, making a genuine connection with a song is easier said than done. Ponniah has simply decided to trust himself.
“The only thing I look at is how I feel about the music. When you try and predict too much how the music will be perceived, that’s when you struggle. Earlier on, that’s what I was looking at a lot. But almost all the time, I figure if I like it, then there’s got to be an audience that will like it as well.”
As I OH YOU continues to grow, Ponniah is aiming to diversify the label’s lineup instead of being pigeonholed as the “Party rock” label, stating that “we don’t want to find our label in a position where we’re unable to sign an electronic act.”
One step at a time, Ponniah is learning how to turn what was once a simple idea to pay off some bills into an opportunity to expose Australia’s diverse array of talented musicians. But he wants to make one thing clear: he’s still learning.
“When you’re doing a panel, there’s a certain expectation that you’re going to have all the answers, because you’re on the panel, which isn’t necessarily true.”
BY JOSHUA KLOKE
