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Tag: Rolling Stones

  • Lack of infrastructure hampering growth of live entertainment in India: PwC Ficci report

    Lack of infrastructure hampering growth of live entertainment in India: PwC Ficci report

    MUMBAI: The live entertainment industry in India is still evolving. However Indian event managers have shown their capabilities in successfully managing national and international events. On the flip side issues like high entertainment taxes, lack of world class infrastructure and the unorganised nature of a lot of event management companies continue to hinder growth.

    These observations were made Pricewaterhouse Coopers in its report The Indian entertainment industry: An Unfolding Opportunity. The report was released at the recently concluded frames convention. Going forward the live entertainment sector is likely to see collaborations with global majors as well as across different constituents of the entertainment industry – film, television music and event managers to maxmise the value of organised events.

    The report notes that last year there was change in mindset exhibited towards accepting event management companies. An example was the 35th international Film Festival which was held in Goa. This shows that even government bodies are willing to use event management companies. In addition integration of event management into a marketing plan is growing. Gone are the days where corporates used even management companies for ad hoc promotions or one time product launches. Today they are an integral part of each marketing plan and are also offering advertisers customised annual deals where they secure the advertising rights for events even three to four years in advance.

    Compared with advertising on print or on television events tend to influence the target audience on the spot. The conversion rate is much higher and therefore to that extent the re4turn on rupee is also greater. At the same time promoting brands through events is definitely not a replacement for the oprint and electronic medium. It can at best su[pplement the two streams.

    The report notes that the success of reality show on television is boosting the live entertainment industry. An example is Indian Idol where live shows saw stars interact with public. Also Who dares Wins from AXN afforded some visibility for the public to appear on the channel. Then there are concerts featuring international stars like Sting, Shaggy, Rolling Stones, Bryan Adams. International events provide opportunities for companies that want association like mobile phones. For instance Nokia made available special ring tones and downloads for the Sting concert.

    Another aspect of live entertainment in India which is growing is personal events which get a lot of hype. The Sahara wedding is a great example of this. 20 celebrity weddings took place last year. Each event cost Rs. 20 to Rs. 40 million. Rising income levels provide impetus for growth he4re. These events create an international blitzkrieg of news and wonder,

    On the flip side high entertainment taxes continue to be a roadblock. While the Maharashtra government reduced the entertainment tax from 49 per cent to 25 per cent Sting still gave Mumbai the miss. A lot more still needs to be done. A multiplicity of taxes is taxing organisers of live international events. There is a need for rationalization of the entertainment tax rates. The funds saved can be used to organise more events which will generate more revenue for the government.

    Another problem is that grounds with a capacity to hold over 2000 people are difficult to find in some of the metros. While hospitality giants like taj, Oberoi are pushing their resorts, banqwuert halls as the mkost desirable venues for such events a lot more infrastructure needs to be made available. Some cities do have sports stadiums. However the lack of facilities in there require event management companies to rebuild infrastructure. This needs longer time period permissions which are usually not available from the management bodies of these stadiums.

  • MTV India Music Awards on the anvil?

    MTV India Music Awards on the anvil?

    MUMBAI: The original was the MTV Music Awards. Then came the MTV Europe Music Awards. The MTV Asia Music Awards had their second run in January. The natural next step would appear to be the MTV India Music Awards. And if the discussions going on at present bear fruition, that might just happen by this year-end.

    Though no deal has been signed and delivered, discussions have reached a serious stage to hold an MTV India Music Awards around October-November, industry sources close to the matter say.
     

    MTV India and the industry umbrella body – the Indian Music Industry (IMI) – are reportedly working out the logistics to hold what will be the “Indian chapter” of what has become an iconic event for youth across the globe.

    Indian musicians and their fans would certainly welcome such a move considering the short shrift given to Indian artistes at the MTV Asia Awards, which has more of a Far Eastern cultural sensibility.

    Whether any big international acts like Avril Lavigne, or Robbie Williams would deign to come down for something like this remains to be seen. But the success of the recent Rolling Stones tour to India may just sway the uppity types (and Mr Williams certainly falls in that category). A real coup though, would be if multiple-Grammy Award winner and the flavour of the season Norah Jones (Ravi Shankar’s “estranged” daughter) could be persuaded to perform.

    And how successful would the awards be? Previous music awards – The Channel [V] Music Awards – ran for a couple of years before they were discontinued. MTV will have to tread carefully to ensure that they don’t go the way the earlier awards went. Also Zee has been running its Sangeet Awards – though they were of a different meter.

  • After World Cup, its Rolling Stones for MAX

    After World Cup, its Rolling Stones for MAX

    MUMBAI: After the cricket World Cup what? That’s been the question regarding MAX. Well the broadcaster has chosen one of the biggest names in the music business as its next big act. Rock music legends The Rolling Stones will visit India in April and MAX will air one of the concerts in Bangalore a month after it is performed.
     

    Show promoters DNA Networks’ Venkat Vardhan said that two concerts would take place on 11 and 14 April. The first one is in Bangalore for which tickets will go on sale on 10 March. In fact today the whole of Asia tour is being announced in different countries. The Karnataka government has been most helpful and the company is trying to get the band to perform in Mumbai the next day, Vardhan said.

    “Economically however this has to be made viable. Petitions have already been made to the Maharashtra government. We are pushing for a reduction in the 50 per cent entertainment tax. Other states charge between 15-20 per cent. Also the 50 per cent tax on sponsorship and on complimentary tickets given out must be abolished as this is blatantly unfair to the organiser. Fingers crossed things will work out but if not then Delhi and Kolkata are other alternative venues,” Venkat said.

    SET CEO Kunal Dasgupta said: “When I was approached by Dilip Doshi to be the broadcast partner I did not think twice. After all I have spent a large part of my life getting “no satisfaction” and “Jumping Jack Flash”. Max will be the primary host and it is important to note that just two concerts worldwide from the Rolling Stones 2003 World Licks tour are being aired on television. The first one was the Madison Square Gardens event, which was televised by HBO in the US. The second one will be the Bangalore concert. After MAX the event will air on Sony. It might go to HBO or AXN later on depending on how much revenue can be generated, Dasgupta said.

    “For all events we have different event producers but for this one I am going to be personally involved. I would say that this is the pinnacle of my career with Sony and we will be creating a promotional campaign using the network, which will create a new dimension to event marketing, Dasgupta added.

    Dasgupta also tried to draw a link between cricket and the Rolling Stones. “Mick Jagger is a major cricket enthusiast and he co-promoted cricinfo.com before selling his stake to Satyam. I would like to point out that tickets for the Singapore concert have sold out in two hours and we expect a similar reaction to Mumbai. This band cuts across age groups, gender. Not everyone speaks English but everyone is aware of the Rolling Stones,” he said.

    MAX business head Rajat Jain said, “We view this as a major event that doesn’t come around too often. We have bagged the rights to Devdas along with three or four other films. The trick to hooking viewers is how you push the smaller events and properties around the major ones. The Rolling Stones and The World Cup are major events. The CEAT Cricket Awards is a medium sized event. The Rolling Stones do not represent a shift in programming strategy whatsoever. We will continue to focus on events related to cricket and movies. Whether or not The Rolling Stones becomes one of the defining events of the year is for the viewer to decide.”

    Venkat said McDowell No.1 is the title sponsor. There would be an opening act for both concerts but it is still to be decided whether this would be English or Hindi music. ” Nine to ten bands have approached me personally requesting me to give them a stage for such an important occasion. The finer details of the concerts like arrangements, ticket prices, promotional campaigns will be announced on Tuesday. As far as other events are concerned the Adnan Sami tour is taking place and we are trying to promote Indian music as well.”

    Ex-cricketer Dilip Doshi, whose company it is that is promoting this event, said: “This represents a long time dream come true. The band has withstood all the problems associated with rock ‘n’ roll for 40 years. Mick Jagger has been a cricket fan for 30 years and has been wanting to come down to India for a while now. However due to logistical reasons this was not possible earlier. Jagger in fact visited India in 1996 for the World Cup semi final.”

    An innovative promotional video was aired showing the excitement that the Rolling Stones create today whether the music lover is from Mexico or Holland.