T-Series acquires Rahman’s music without a second thought- Bhanushali
MUMBAI: Having acquired all of A R Rahman's music releases - Yuvvraaj, Ghajini, Jaane tu ya jaane na - in 2008, T-Series' acquisition of Golden Globe winner Slumdog Millionaire's India rights seemed a natural progression. Says T-Series president - marketing media publishing Vinod Bhanushali, “We got a call from A R Rahman’s office in late 2008 asking if we would be interested in acquiring the music rights of Slumdog Millionaire. Although the movie had no strong star cast and we knew that the music was available on the Internet, we opted to acquire the audio rights of the film.” T-Series is known for its popular Bollywood contemporary music, but this time opted for the unconventional music of Slumdog Millionaire. “When we heard the music, we were confident that if we campaign it the way we promote our films, it would get us good returns. Also tracks like ‘Jai ho’ and ‘Ring ringa’ are very Indian and audiences easily connect with it. Also, we completely trust our distribution and marketing abilities,” adds Bhanushali. “Acceptance didn’t come easy from retail stores, radio and other platforms like mobile and digital. So, we had to flow it in the Bollywood genre and convince them that it was after all, Rahman’s music and would certainly work in the Indian market.” 2008 was undoubtedly Rahman’s year with releases like Jodhaa Akhbar, Yuvvraaj, Ghajini, Jaane tu ya jaane na etc, three of which were released by T-Series. “We acquire Rahman’s music without a second thought because he has a unique style and sounds phenomenonal. When heard the first time, the music might not appeal to many, but on repeated hearings the music grows on you. Also, in every album that he delivers, there is a new element that stands out - it might be the lyrics, orchestra or an innovative style of music. In this case, it was Rahman’s charm and perception that convinced us to buy the audio rights.” With the industry complaining about dwindling physical sales, Bhanushali still believes that physical sales can pick up if the product is placed right. “Physical sales mainly depend on the genre, film, time, place and product. For successfully selling a product, you need to know the length and breadth of all Indian markets and understand the taste of individual states. Like for Delhi, we play the Punjabi genre and for Mumbai we generally hammer innovative tracks, so there are many combinations.” “Slumdog Millionaire is essentially a multiplex movie, so we are targeting the youth and metros and are using channels like MTV and Zoom to promote the songs. There is a strategy to promote each song and we plan it according to the tastes of each state.” Other T-Series music currently ruling the charts are Ghajini, Slumdog Millionaire, Dev D, Billu Barber, Victory, Chandni chowk to China and Delhi 6. “All the films we choose are novel, like the ‘Nayan tarse’ track from Dev D or ‘Masakkali’ from Delhi 6 are different and are liked by the audiences.” T-Series owns the digital rights of all its acquisitions and believes there is a huge market for it. “Digital is a gold mine, contributing between 30 to 40 per cent of total sales. But in case of genres like devotional, regional and festive music, the physical sales are more than digital. Hungama is the content aggregator for all our digital music but the audio rights remain with us.” 2008 was a phenomenal year for the music label as it acquired almost 75 per cent of the market and made its presence felt. “We mainly dwell on the music and secondly on the relations we have in the industry. Price is also an important factor while zeroing in on a project and the film makers approach us because of the marketing and distribution support we provide them with a strong pan India and presence in 24 countries. It also works as an advantage for us as a label as we approach retailers with a bundle of our songs in different genres which they cannot deny. So, the gameplan is to position the product appropriately at the right time.” With some great acquisitions last year, the music label is anticipating a 10-15 per cent increase in its revenue this fiscal over last year. With the music acquisition rates coming down because of the recession, Bhanushali believes that it was a much needed move. “I would rather say it's market correction as the ways for monetising content were increasing and there were exhorbitant deals ruling the market. It was a long awaited correction for the industry to realise that the music rights were way too high. The rates have now stabilised.” MUMBAI: Having acquired all of A R Rahman's music releases - Yuvvraaj, Ghajini, Jaane tu ya jaane na - in 2008, T-Series' acquisition of Golden Globe winner Slumdog Millionaire's India rights seemed a natural progression. Says T-Series president - marketing media publishing Vinod Bhanushali, “We got a call from A R Rahman’s office in late 2008 asking if we would be interested in acquiring the music rights of Slumdog Millionaire. Although the movie had no strong star cast and we knew that the music was available on the Internet, we opted to acquire the audio rights of the film.” T-Series is known for its popular Bollywood contemporary music, but this time opted for the unconventional music of Slumdog Millionaire. “When we heard the music, we were confident that if we campaign it the way we promote our films, it would get us good returns. Also tracks like ‘Jai ho’ and ‘Ring ringa’ are very Indian and audiences easily connect with it. Also, we completely trust our distribution and marketing abilities,” adds Bhanushali. “Acceptance didn’t come easy from retail stores, radio and other platforms like mobile and digital. So, we had to flow it in the Bollywood genre and convince them that it was after all, Rahman’s music and would certainly work in the Indian market.” 2008 was undoubtedly Rahman’s year with releases like Jodhaa Akhbar, Yuvvraaj, Ghajini, Jaane tu ya jaane na etc, three of which were released by T-Series. “We acquire Rahman’s music without a second thought because he has a unique style and sounds phenomenonal. When heard the first time, the music might not appeal to many, but on repeated hearings the music grows on you. Also, in every album that he delivers, there is a new element that stands out - it might be the lyrics, orchestra or an innovative style of music. In this case, it was Rahman’s charm and perception that convinced us to buy the audio rights.” With the industry complaining about dwindling physical sales, Bhanushali still believes that physical sales can pick up if the product is placed right. “Physical sales mainly depend on the genre, film, time, place and product. For successfully selling a product, you need to know the length and breadth of all Indian markets and understand the taste of individual states. Like for Delhi, we play the Punjabi genre and for Mumbai we generally hammer innovative tracks,so there are many combinations.” “Slumdog Millionaire is essentially a multiplex movie, so we are targeting the youth and metros and are using channels like MTV and Zoom to promote the songs. There is a strategy to promote each song and we plan it according to the tastes of each state.” Other T-Series music currently ruling the charts are Ghajini, Slumdog Millionaire, Dev D, Billu Barber, Victory, Chandni chowk to China and Delhi 6. “All the films we choose are novel, like the ‘Nayan tarse’ track from Dev D or ‘Masakkali’ from Delhi 6 are different and are liked by the audiences.” T-Series owns the digital rights of all its acquisitions and believes there is a huge market for it. “Digital is a gold mine, contributing between 30 to 40 per cent of total sales. But in case of genres like devotional, regional and festive music, the physical sales are more than digital. Hungama is the content aggregator for all our digital music but the audio rights remain with us.” 2008 was a phenomenal year for the music label as it acquired almost 75 per cent of the market and made its presence felt. “We mainly dwell on the music and secondly on the relations we have in the industry. Price is also an important factor while zeroing in on a project and the film makers approach us because of the marketing and distribution support we provide them with a strong pan India and presence in 24 countries. It also works as an advantage for us as a label as we approach retailers with a bundle of our songs in different genres which they cannot deny. So, the gameplan is to position the product appropriately at the right time.” With some great acquisitions last year, the music label is anticipating a 10-15 per cent increase in its revenue this fiscal over last year. With the music acquisition rates coming down because of the recession, Bhanushali believes that it was a much needed move. “I would rather say it's market correction as the ways for monetising content were increasing and there were exhorbitant deals ruling the market. It was a long awaited correction for the industry to realise that the music rights were way too high. The rates have now stabilised.” http://www.radioandmusic.com/content/editorial/news/t-series-acquires-rahman%E2%80%99s-music-without-a-second-thought-bhanushali
