SANAM on when music stops being art and becomes business

At a time when virality often dictates visibility, the conversation around music as both art and commerce has become impossible to ignore. For SANAM, a band that rose to fame organically through YouTube long before reels and algorithms took over, the shift has been both fascinating and concerning.During a recent conversation with Pune Times, the band opened up about the growing commercialisation of music and the fine line between survival and compromise. Lead vocalist Sanam Puri acknowledged that business is inevitably tied to music. “Music, at the end of the day, does become business for every artist — Roti Kapda Makaan — it’s how they survive,” he said.But according to him, the danger begins when commercial success starts overshadowing creativity itself. “When the focus shifts entirely to reach and revenue, it can dilute the art,” he explained. “A lot of people make commercial music not because it comes from the heart, but because they want fame and money.”For SANAM, one way of protecting creativity is by creating distance between art and administration. “That’s why having the right team helps,” Sanam said. “They can handle the business side while you focus on creating.”Bassist Venky believes one of the biggest challenges artists face today is creative stagnation. “It’s very easy to get stuck in a pattern,” he observed. “Reinvention takes time. You need to step back, reflect, and consciously evolve.”Drummer Keshav Dhanraj added that simplicity and sincerity are often what connect most deeply with listeners. “The simplicity of what you start with is what connects with people. If you lose that, you lose everything,” he said.The discussion eventually moved beyond success metrics and into emotional fulfilment. Sanam pointed out that many artists who appear successful externally may still feel creatively dissatisfied internally. “There’s often a fear that their true expression won’t be accepted,” he admitted.Samar Puri compared that pressure to “wearing a mask”, while Sanam described vulnerability as the ideal artistic state. “The best place to be is when you can be vulnerable and put out what you truly believe in, without worrying about how it performs.”In an industry increasingly driven by numbers, SANAM’s perspective feels almost old-school — a reminder that music may be a business, but it cannot survive without honesty.