Think of all the ways you wind down after a tiring day. What’s your go-to activity when you’re bored? Did your answers include listening to music or watching shows/videos? Needless to say, you’re not the only one. Try imagining a week with no music. No series to binge watch on the weekend. No videos or podcasts to keep your mind occupied. Infuriating, isn't it? Despite actively consuming various kinds of media for entertainment, most of us fail to understand and appreciate the artists and their omnipresent work.

Art produces emotion in people. An upbeat song can lift your mood. Resonating with a fictional character from a book or movie can help you with self-reflection and to be less critical of yourself. Certain podcasts or Ted Talks motivate you to live your life in a different, better way. Art is a medium that directly changes one's thoughts, mood, ideas and more. It’s a powerful force with the ability to influence huge masses. Regardless of this, most artists struggle to make ends meet, solely on the basis of their art.

The struggle of choosing a creative career isn’t news. The lack of respect for artists has stemmed from the common belief that art doesn’t create value and is less significant than other major streams. Society’s poor conception of creative jobs and work results in artists being paid far less than their worth. This economic rift further reduces the respect artists have today. Artists are forced to choose socially and financially secure alternatives to their career.

In addition to this, people don’t observe art enough to be able to understand the effort and time it takes. Abstract paintings are defined as ‘random splashes of paint’. Songs are just ‘lyrics strung together with the same tunes’. Using this kind of phrasing devalues the hard work that goes into it all. Being blind to the time, work or meaning of something makes people ignorant, leading to underestimation of artists.

Without external support, financial and social, it’s very difficult for artists to rise. In recent times, musicians have been raising their displeasure over the same. Mainstream media and influential figures promote popularity of the already well liked and recognised artists. The difference is so large that artists with over 500k listeners are considered ‘underrated’. The compensation received per stream on all streaming sites is extremely low. There are no provisions to promote a struggling artist without them having to put a big dent in their pockets.

For a lot of artists, producing their art is hardly about money, fame, or success. But passion can only take you so far. Relying on their art, regardless of how good it might be, proves to be insufficient to earn a living. Small things we listeners can do for them go a long way. The simple act of sharing their music, engaging with their music in the form of likes and comments or making playlists and adding their songs helps them increase their reach.

Here at Aural, we are trying to make a platform as creator friendly as possible. Our platform aims to reduce, if not eliminate, the main struggles of our artists in various ways.

1. Eliminating an ‘administration fee’ that artists must pay in order to have their content published. Creators are free to upload and promote their content free of cost. The uploading process is short and easy too. All that’s needed to be done is provide a title, description, and an image to go with your content. Getting their work published on a public platform takes no additional effort or labour, as we believe it should always be.

2. The hassle to create background images, cover art or a video to go with your music is not convenient for all artists. This poses a problem as music without conventionally aesthetically pleasing art or videos tend to not gain enough traction. Aural comes with a huge range of images assorted according to genre. Creators are free to choose from this large selection of images and upload their content with a tap.

3. The biggest problem faced by artists is not having their content reach their target audience. Aural solves the disparity in reach with our algorithm that shows the user the best suited post. The algorithm shows no variance between artists based on their follower count, popularity, region, etc. With Aural, you can be sure to reach an audience. No matter where you stand, your skill and Aural will take you forward.

Are you an artist looking for a realistic and viable platform? Or an enthusiast looking to explore new tunes? If yes, then Aural’s the right choice for you. The app is ready and you can reach out to us to become a beta tester now!

Till then, stay tuned for more blogs…