"I could have bought a very nice phone with the money I bought this guitar with," said Joy Shahriar in The Daily Star's canteen, proudly flaunting his baby Taylor guitar. "But I chose this expensive guitar. I don't have unlimited funds, but I know my priorities." In a way, this sums up the "Shotti Bolchi" singer's entire career – a story of passion, strife, and street smarts.

Clad in his signature gamcha, Joy rose initially rose to fame with his band Nirjhor, before breaking out with his aforementioned solo album. Today, the artiste is arguably a pillar of the entertainment industry, especially for young up-and-comers, with Aajob Records helping dozens of musicians find their place in showbiz, and Aajob Prokash disrupting the books market while giving opportunities to unlikely writers. To top that, Aajob Karkhana, Joy's video production and event management firm, has made 150 music videos and reached its century of events.

So, what enticed Joy, the son of a journalist, to not only chase his dreams of being a musician but create a space for others to express their art as well? "I was 23 years old when Nirjhor got the offer from G-Series for a three-album deal, which was the norm back then if you wanted to work with them," he said. "I did not want to 'sell out' my art, or be bound by contract for such a long time."

He declined the offer to sign with Impress, who gave him a more favourable one-album deal. Ultimately, for his debut solo album, Joy negotiated a deal with G-Series. "I convinced Khalid bhai to let me opt out of a three-year deal, and for a then nobody like me, it was a big step – a lot of big-time musicians could not do that," said the artiste. "I was always like this, I stood up for myself."

As the album, "Shotti Bolchi" became an instant hit, Joy's music was all over the country on television and FM radio, which controlled the flow of music. "From 2008 to 2010, artistes like Minar, Elita Karim, Parvez Sajjad, Hridoy Khan, Kona, and Leemon had their first albums, and it is not a coincidence – music really thrived at that time, because the distribution channels were stellar, driven by audience demand and not the algorithm."

In 2013, when Aajob Records was born, Joy's initial goal was to launch his album. "When I started producing for other artistes, I realised the immense potential that the newer ones had, added to the array of knowledge that I could derive from legends of the industry," stated Joy, who has worked with legends like Nachiketa and Kumar Bishwajit, and was the first proper producer for artistes like Riad Hasan, Bay of Bengal and Kamruzzaman Rabbi.

Read more

Black reunion: A one-off?

"The way I see it, Bappa bhai (Bappa Mazumder) produced songs for me when I could not even think of affording him, from his fondness for me. Pavel Areen offered to do the sound design for my solo album in exchange for virtually nothing. Emon Chowdhury played a few songs there as well. How can I ever repay them? For me, it's about giving back, while relieving younger artistes of industry syndicates," he expressed.

Since the past decade, Aajob Records has released more than 700 songs, no small feat in a market shifting towards self-publishing. Besides that, Joy claims that his publishing front comes more naturally to him. "My father owned a magazine called 'Biborton', and I regularly went with him to the press."

Aajob Prokash, after its inception during the pandemic in 2020, has published more than 120 titles. "Once you are aware of your rights and are used to doing stuff yourself, you can never let others skim you of your earnings!", laughs Joy, who further attributes being a publisher to wanting his daughter to read more in Bangla. 

Noteworthy as well is Joy's passion for events, as he arranges a landmark tribute concert for maestro Sanjeeb Choudhury every year, known as the "Sanjeeb Utshab". Aajob Karkhana also successfully arranged Nachiketa's 30-year celebration concert in Dhaka, last year.

After his albums, "Shotti Bolchi", "Ekhoni", "Thik Ebhabei", and "Lapatta", Joy Shahriar is coming with his fifth solo album. "I've never been the most 'popular' artiste out there, but I am content with my career.

Read more

A man that keeps evolving

After his albums Shotti Bolchi, Ekhoni, Thik Ebhabei, and Lapatta, Joy Shahriar is coming with his fifth solo album. "I've never been the most 'popular' artiste out there, but I am content with my career. I am an analogue artiste of the digital age, but I was arguably among the first digital artiste when no one thought of their online footprint," concluded Joy, who did, indeed release his single "Chhuto" in 2013, when people did not think outside albums.