Discussion Post | Struggles of being an Indian lover of foreign music

Hey everyone! Welcome or welcome back to my blog!

So, I’ve done two posts on Struggles of being an Indian reader (Check them out here and here), and they were very well received, so I decided to pen a post on a similar theme- Struggles of being an Indian lover of foreign music!

To be clear, I love Bollywood music, especially the early 2010s music, but these days, the music just doesn’t have the same vibe? That’s why I end up migrating more towards music produced by American and British artists, since there’s just so much of it!

As a lover of British and American music, these are some of the struggles I face:

1. Vinyls? Pay a cost for shipping that’s equal to the price of it.:
   Okay, so musicians like Taylor Swift- when they get something out on vinyl and stuff, the cost is forty to fifty dollars, as far as I know, which is equivalent to like three thousand INR, and the shipping costs is just as much! Now, if I ask my parents that I want to buy a vinyl for over five thousand rupees, they’re going to laugh me out of the room. What’s more, I’ll have to buy a gramophone too, which I bet isn’t cheap here. So, um, yeah.
   
2. Merch? What’s that?:
   Okay, so recently TS released new merch, which was so pretty, and I was like- I WANT. But again, the prices of shipping is so high! And the thing is, you’d think Amazon would have decent merch for popular artists, but nuh uh! It’s like Indians don’t listen to artists from other countries! I mean! It’s outrageous!
   
3. Concerts? HAHAHAHA, NO:
   For some reason, every single artist, when asked their thoughts on India are like, “Oh we love the country, it seems like such an amazing place.” Well, then, COME VISIT IT. And in European countries and other Asian countries like Japan and stuff, they have multiple tour stops, but here in India, for some reason, they’ll make one stop at Mumbai or Delhi, and then it’s byee. Or even worse, they’ll perform at Sunburn, which is like this festival which takes place in Goa , which is the smallest state of the country, and also the state where everyone wants to go, but no one’s parents allows them until they’re 50. It also took place in Pune a few times, I think. As you can see, I am very many years away from 50, hence, while the chances of my parents flying me to Mumbai alone are higher than them going to Sunburn in Goa or Pune, for that matter, with me.
   
   Also, most famous artists perform at Coachella, and a lot of smaller artists still go to see them, so there’s like chances you can just bump into them, so well, yeah, that’s something I hope I can attend at some point in the future.
   
4. Meet greets? I don’t think so:
   Okay, so recently, one of my favourite bands- Why Don’t We, did a fan meet-up, and I was feeling major FOMO. And I know they can’t fly out for just one meet greet or whatever, but still hurts :((
   
   
5. Random bump-ins and falling in love on first sight with your favourite artist? Not a chance:
   Okay, okay, this one is for the optimist in me. Don’t judge, okay? Have y’all never imagined that a random bump in with your favourite artist might lead to love and a happily ever after? No? Just me? Oh okay.
   But that’s not possible when you live on two opposite sides of the globe, right?! Like if you live in the same country, there’s a chance. A teeny tiny one, but still a chance.

Anyway, those were the five struggles I face as an Indian lover of foreign music! Let me know in the comments what struggles you face as a music lover!