He made his debut in Chennai in 1920. His name was announced as "Subramania Iyer of Musiri" and the name stuck. (As per tradition in India, the town the artist hails from is sometimes added as a prefix to ones name, honoring the town while simultaneously giving a distinction of a specific geographical nature to the artist, such as Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, etc.) Given that Musiri was not born in Musiri, accounts differ as to why the name Musiri was added to his name. Musiri once stated that it was simply because Musiri was a more well known location than Musiri's home town of Bommalapalayam, and easier to say as a prefix. Whatever the case, Musiri Subramania Iyer was a prolific and expert performer, and within 10 years his reputation as a master musician across India was sealed.