Reshabh Chhabra: The journey of a musician on Instagram

We at SuperShare are fortunate to live in a world where countless talented artists share their work with us. Among them are musicians who have made a name for themselves on Instagram, one such creator is Reshabh Chhabra.

At SuperShare, we cover various stories of artists, creators, and influencers in various fields making a name for themselves on the internet. This is Reshabh Chhabra and his story.

So how did Reshabh Chhabra get started?

Like every other musician, I was the guitarist of the school. Later, I dropped out of engineering to pursue music full-time. Since I did not want to be stuck with only guitar, I started to self-learn the basics of music production through YouTube & a certificate course. After doing so, I started posting free beats on YouTube and Instagram. I soon realized I wanted to learn everything to be independent of others for vocals or beats. 

I was lucky enough to compose a jingle for the government, which they still use.

From there, people started to recognize me. 

Soon, I also realized that to reach the masses, I’ll need to venture into content creation.

So I started being active on Instagram by posting musical content and covers. I started doing multiple shoots, collaborations, and performances in Delhi and around India. I even made music for a friend’s short film which was chosen for the London Film festival (The film is called ‘Ek Jaan’ and will soon be released on OTT). From there, Airtel recognized me and recruited me to work in their music distribution daughter company. Things slowly fell into place. I then switched from my real name (Rishabh) to my artist name (Reshabh Chhabra). 

Today I stand close to 1M streams on Spotify (~950K right now). 

My musical journey is one that is full of ups and downs. 

How does Reshabh Chhabra leverage content creation to spread your music?

Indians love video content. People in India first watch videos and then listen to music later.

After working on that musical short film with my friend, I realized that Indians love video content. People in India watch videos first and then listen to the audio. 

Video content is the most dominant in India. 

As soon as I realized this, I started making music videos. I even collaborated with brands for music videos. My first music video collaboration with a brand was with Tata Sky, on World Music Day. I used to post reels with my original songs as the audio. This directed their audience to me. I then collaborated with Zaman Khan, the lead guitarist of a popular band called Astitva. We made a song together (called Eid ho jaaye) for which we partnered with Boat for the music video.

This made me realize that Brand collaborations mixed with content creation & my music can all go hand in hand. This link is what I try to achieve with my music and content. I also collaborated with Unlu, a Gurgaon-based e-education company- on my original song called Dil Bawra. All this started a chain of events where I was constantly in touch with multiple brands. There’s an app for creators called Mauj, I also collaborated with them for jingles and songs. A diverse set of brands ranging from music to fashion were covered by me. 

Do you think all artists should venture into content creation to grow faster?

It depends on what their art form is and how they express themselves. Or how they like to brand themselves. It also depends on how well they can adapt their content into watchable social media content, keeping in mind that people’s attention spans are 0. 

Who’s Reshabh Chhabra’s inspiration to create content?

I can’t point out a content creator but I sure have people I look up to in the music space. I wish to become as big as Arijit Singh and make my music available on a global level. Overnight fame is not something I desire- I want to take it slow. One-hit wonders barely stay permanent- they gradually decline. 

I don’t want overnight fame, I want to take it slow.

I don’t stick to one field to fetch my inspiration. 

My inspiration could come from a businessman political leader or even a sportsperson. I keep my mind open. 

What according to Reshabh Chhabra are the most important skills to be a content creator?

• Be consistent:
  Honestly, it’s normal to feel lazy when it comes to content creation. I face that all the time myself! But it’s very important to be consistent to be a good creator. So one eventually has to get to their foot and start ideating and editing. Even while releasing my music, I try to be disciplined. I try to stick to my frequency to be consistent. 

• Equip yourself with as many skills as possible :
  I also try to learn all the skills involved in content creation myself. It’s always better to be independent of anyone else to do all the tasks involved. For example, when I was playing guitar I used to think, why can’t I compose or write lyrics myself too? So I started to learn everything myself. 
  Sometimes I feel like it’s a very lonely job to be an artist. It takes solidarity to generate ideas sometimes. 
  Whenever I pulled myself into isolation, I peeped into myself and found out that I can learn at least the basics of a lot of skills involved. 

• Community building :
  Being in close touch with only one’s Instagram family doesn’t suffice. I am learning more about how to be more open with my community. I want to be more available for my fans. This is what I’ve been incorporating into my shows as well. Regardless of whether it is a college event, a gig in a cafe, or a personal event, I try to interact more with listeners and even repost their stories if they tag me. I want to develop a healthy relationship with all my fans. I believe that regardless of how many followers one gains, it’s always possible to maintain a relationship with fans. Even if a creator likes a story of a fan, it increases recall value by many folds.

Let me give you an example.

 I recently did a show in a girls’ college in Delhi where I witnessed an audience of around 3500 girls. I exclusively performed an unreleased song there. After the show ended, I found out that I have 1000 story mentions. I engaged with them by reposting and replying. Since they remember me, my show tickets will get sold out faster. 

The ways fan relationships convert by themselves in the long term is quite insane. 

Community building and personalization are extended tasks for an independent artist but they pay off in the end. 

These are more things I try to do on my own- from community building to ads. All independent artists should know the basics of marketing themselves digitally- even if you’re going to hire someone to do it. 

What aspect of content creation do you personally like?

I like being in front of the camera. The process of shooting gave me a lot of knowledge about camera angles and storytelling through film. This made me fall in love with writing too. 

I love the spotlight on me. I also like writing a lot. 

As a result of my love for writing, I also now write ads for many small brands. 

What are Reshabh Chhabra’s comments on the Creator economy?

There are four ways of making money from the creator economy. 

• Brand deals: Be it a musician or a creator, brand deals add value to every creator’s life.
• Ad revenue: Instagram, YouTube, and other social media have all started to monetize their platforms. 
• Merchandise: Creators can sell their products/ merchandise.
• Affiliate links: Brands and creators make money with each website visit/ click.

In my opinion, these four things make up the backbone of the creator economy. Every creator should know these points to make money and grow their career.

What is your take on the different content creation tools available online?

They give an edge and help a creator be 1 step ahead of others. Staying in touch with technology is also crucial for creators and musicians alike. 

What is your experience with using SuperShare tools 

I have been using the SuperBio link for almost a month now. The experience with videos is flawless. The best advantage of SuperBio is that it optimizes for Click through rate (CTR) and viewer retention without ads or any other distractions. 

About SuperShare

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