A glimpse at the names that have been associated with YouTube's Foundry programme before they achieved stardom, is likely to make Indians celebrate the addition of their like to the list. Lost Stories duo Rishab Joshi and Prayag Mehta, who were "hand-picked" to be part of the platform's artiste-development programme for 2020 — which will groom them to "use music and storytelling to engage fans all over the world" — are the first from the country to achieve the feat. They join the likes of Dua Lipa, Rosalia, Kenny Beats, and Omar Apollo, who have benefited from the initiative in the past. In an interview with mid-day, the two — who've also performed at the Tomorrowland festival — discuss why this development is promising.

Could you highlight how you were roped in to be part of this batch of Foundry?
Joshi: We were part of another week-long artiste-development programme called YouTube Nextup, where we were taught how to work on content [creation], and [maximise] streaming. After implementing what we learnt, we saw a meteoric spike [in viewership]. Those we met at the event recommended us for the global programme, Foundry.
Mehta: It's among the most elite programmes offered by any platform, and they pick only one artiste from the country. Nextup played a big role in helping us get in. While the Foundry programme runs for six months, we will collaborate with YouTube for a year.