Bollywood music report Jan-Dec 2014

Bollywood music saw many changing trends in 2014, be it the emergence of the importance of singles over albums, the virtual replacement of old singers by new voices, the culture of multiple music directors for a film, the emphasis given to the promotional song in a film or the birth of Zee Music as a challenger to the still dominant T-Series
Music has always been and has become an even bigger parameter in the success of a film.This year, the films which gave the makers the maximum return on investment were coincidentally films with great music, be it '2 States', 'Ek Villain', 'Ragini MMS 2' or 'Yaariyan'. 'Kick', this year's biggest blockbuster so far, too had great music. The culture of music being unveiled at the music launch has given way to singles being released one by one, culminating with an event where the stars of the film interact with media and release the CD, which is a mere photo-op.
All top 10 songs this year had completely new voices, barring that of Shreya Ghoshal, who still remains a hot favourite amongst music directors. Even though Arijit Singh, Ankit Tiwari and Yo Yo Honey Singh remained top choices for every filmmaker, Kanika Kapoor and Mohammad Irfan made impressive debuts. On the subject of copyright and contracts, we are happy that the music companies and all the associations have reached a consensus that is mutually beneficial. While T-Series remains the dominant player, Zee Music seems to have bagged a chunk of the market, proving to be good challengers.
Top 10 songs (based on Mirchi Top 20 and our rating)

Top 10 critically best songs

Transitions in the Bollywood music industry in 2014:
Singles replace albums: Launch of singles replaces the culture of album releases
New singers take over: New singers replace the old singers completely
Multiple music directors for a film: More and more films now have multiple music directors composing songs for one film
The emergence of the Promotional song: Many films now record and market a promotional song after the completion of the film, to give the film a boost at the box office. This song is usually sung and performed by a special singer or actress to help build hype for the film.
Virtual monopoly of T-Series gives way to a competitive market scenario with Zee Music as a key challenger: The copyright issue raised gave way to the emergence of Zee Music as a challenger to the still dominant T-Series.
Top 5 Albums
1. Film 2 States
Rating 4 Stars
Music Directors
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
2. Film Ek Villain
Rating 4 stars
Music Directors
Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari & Soch
3. Film Kick
Rating 4 stars
Music Directors
Himesh Reshammiya, Meet Bros Anjjan, Yo Yo Honey Singh
4. Film Ragini MMS2
Rating 4 stars
Music Directors
Chirantan Bhatt, Meet Bros Anjjan, Yo Yo Honey Singh
5. Film Yaariyan
Rating 4 stars
Music Directors
Pritam, Mithoon,Yo Yo Honey Singh, Arko Pravo Mukherjee
Impressive talent
Kanika Kapoor
Singer of Baby Doll, Lovely
Mohammad Irfan
Singer of Dard Dilo Ke, Banjaara
Armaan Malik
Singer of Naina, Auliya
Sohail Sen
Music Director of Gunday
Shashi-Shivamm
Music Directors of Mary Kom
Watch: Baby Doll from Ragini MMS 2