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Tag: Saregama

  • NDTV Good Times brings Yogasutra DVDs in collaboration with Saregama

    NDTV Good Times brings Yogasutra DVDs in collaboration with Saregama

    MUMBAI: Did you know that any movement, even blinking your eyes, requires the coordinated activity of several different muscles? NDTV Good Times’ first health and fitness show – Yogasutra is now available in a DVD format, to reveal many more secrets of the ancient discipline of yoga. Launched in collaboration with Saregama, one of the biggest Indian music companies in the country, the DVD is designed as a visual treat so that the discipline sits easy on the eyes and works as the perfect inspiration to better health.

    Yogasutra showcases the art and science of yoga in all its beauty and strength and introduces its nuances, up close and personal. The DVD features short episodes of different practices pertaining to specific needs of the body, helping you align your physical, mental, and spiritual senses in perfect harmony.

    The series is presented by Samara Chopra, a student, practitioner and teacher of yoga who has been practicing the art since the tender age of 13. Samara firmly believes that yoga is a part of basic human existance, a way of being and a journey to discover your true self.

    Talking about the concept and thought behind launching the DVD Smeeta Chakrabarti, Chief Executive Officer, NDTV Lifestyle said, “As the pioneer in our domain, our endeavour is to constantly innovate and connect with our audiences. We recently launched our first show merchandise – Highway on My Plate Diary and now we are collaborating with Saregama to launch the Yogasutra DVD, an extension to the brand’s philosophy of living the good times.”

    Talking about the initiative, Atul Seth, VP –Development (International & New Business ), NDTV Lifestyle Limited said, “In its five years of existence, NDTV Good Times has acquired a large fan following. With the launch of this DVD, we aim to extend our brand beyond the show and reach a larger section of our target audience. Considering the show is about Yoga we have used the visual media [ DVDs ] so that the viewers can follow the exercise and do them when they feel like. The initial pack has the first 3 episodes and we shall be releasing more additions as we move along.”

    Talking about the show DVD and collaboration with NDTV Good Times, Mr. Adarsh Gupta. Sr. V.P – Music, Saregama said,“We are proud to be associated with India’s premier lifestyle channel for their pathbreaking programing initiative with Yogasutra. Besides being an extremely effective work out Yogasutra was one of the most beautifully presented and esthetically packaged TV show in the history of Indian TV Programing. We believe this DVD will find a place as a permanent seller in Saregama’s vast catalogue.”

    Priced at Rs.299/-, the Yogasutra DVD is now available at all leading music stores across metros.

    Adopt yoga as an extension to your lifestyle, a pursuit to self-discovery, wisdom and freedom of spirit; open your world to a novel experience of a healthy body, clear mind and tranquil spirit with the Yogasutra DVD.

  • Saregama, Sangeet Natak Akademi to revive Indian classical music

    Saregama, Sangeet Natak Akademi to revive Indian classical music

    MUMBAI: Music company Saregama and academy of performing arts Sangeet Natak Akademi have formed an association to re-establish the popularity of the works of legendry artistes that have been preserved by the Akademi.

    Saregama unveiled the first six audio CD’s that have been compiled from the archives of the Akademi and comprises the works of legendary musicians like Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Amir Khan and Ustad Ahmed Jaan Thirakhwa, along with rare recordings on the musical instruments of India.

    Talking about the association, Sangeet Natak Akademi chairman Mirdha said, “Classical Indian music has never before in history enjoyed the kind of pre-eminence that it has in the last six decades. Indian instruments have taken the meditative soul of Raga Music to the Globe.

    This pioneering initiative by Sangeet Natak Akademi and Saregama towards reviving the vast archives of traditional Indian music is truly a giant leap to invoke the interest of the present generation in the vast heritage that our country beholds.”

    Speaking on the occasion Kansal said, “the rich archives of the Sangeet Natak Akademi deserve to be accessible to music fans across the world. Not only do the archives comprise of works of music legends but also house an integral part of India’s rich traditional heritage – Hindustani instrumental music that will be immensely appreciated by the fans of this genre.”

    Sangeet Natak Akademi Secretary Jayant Kastuar, “expressed hope about a long term and fruitful association with Saregama India Ltd.”

    The evening ended with a glimpse of classical heritage music with enthralling performances by Alauddin Khan (Esraj), Rajendra Prasanna (Shehnai & Flute) and Amjad Chowdhary (Tabla).

    Present at the event were Sangeet Natak Akademi Chairman Ram Niwas Mirdha, Saregama India Ltd GM (North) Mukul Kansal, Sangeet Natak Akademi Vice-Chairman Pannicker and Sangeet Natak Akademi Secretary Jayant Kastuar.

  • ‘ Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses’ hits mobile content in India

    ‘ Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses’ hits mobile content in India

    MUMBAI: Mobile content based on Barbie’s latest movie, Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses has been launched across mobile networks in India including Hutch, Airtel, Idea, BSNL, MTNL, Reliance and Tata.

    Wallpapers, animations, themes, mono tones, poly tones, SMS tones, true tones, video clips and MMS Clips / M-cards will also be available and can be accessed by any GPRS enabled phone, informs an official release.

    Speaking on Barbie’s latest marketing initiative Mattel Toys India managing director Sanjay Luthra said, “The range of 12 Dancing Princesses: the dancing Barbie doll, the other doll characters, a musical castle, a stretch-limo Carriage etc. supported by lifestyle consumer products – takes every little girl deeper into the world of brand ‘Barbie’ and enhances her magical experience and interaction with her favourite Doll. Mobile content is one more avenue to reach out to parents’ who are trying to keep up with their tech-savvy Kids!”

    He added, “While Experiential Marketing has always been an important element of our Brand’s Strategy; 360 Degree programs such as these, merely help to build our consumer’s loyalty and inclination to “live in” Barbie’s world with Barbie and for parents who want to teach their children, traditional family values and togetherness that that we respect as part of our Indian beliefs, Barbie brings alive the same, through story and example.”

    Speaking on the mobile content offering the digital content production and distribution company, Rajshri Media (P) Limited managing director Rajjat A. Barjatya said, “We have been enthralled at the response to Barbie mobile content over the last one year and are delighted to release yet another property on the mobile phone. In fact very soon, we have plans to bring Barbie a lot more close to you, by launching the Barbie MobiWorld on our short code and a series of mobile games too. We are quite confident that the new initiatives we are taking, along with Mattel, will be well accepted.”

    In addition, this entertainment property is also supported by lifestyle consumer products such as: the animation movie content on VCD and DVD from Universal Pictures and distributed locally by SaReGaMa, and other licensed consumer products such as storybooks from Euro Kids and Sterling Publishers, role play toys and costumes, My Size jigsaw puzzles and tableware from Mahindra Intertrade , play cosmetics from Magicwell, bags from Genius Leathercraft, innerwear from A-Klass Fashions, nightwear from SD-Lounge and bed linen from Portico, adds the release.

  • ‘Expanding home video relationships with the Hollywood studios into other areas will be a big ticket for us’ : Subroto Chattopadhyay – RPG Enterprises – Ent. Sector president and CEO

    ‘Expanding home video relationships with the Hollywood studios into other areas will be a big ticket for us’ : Subroto Chattopadhyay – RPG Enterprises – Ent. Sector president and CEO

    Saregama, India’s oldest music company, is in makeover mode. Having slipped into the red with a net loss of Rs 211 million in the nine-month period ended 31 March 2004, the RPG Group company has chalked out a five-year growth plan in music, movies, TV content, home video, events and digital formats.

     

    The man responsible for this new script: RPG Enterprises – Entertainment Sector president and CEO Subroto Chattopadhyay. The company has turned around and in FY06 posted a net profit of Rs 88.7 million on a turnover of Rs 1.19 billion.

     

    The focus so far has been to put in place the management bandwidth for running the businesses. Now it is all set to execute these plans and scale up operations as a content company available on all platforms.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Sibabrata Das, Chattopadhyay talks of the efforts made to regain the grand old company’s status as a creative hothouse and of the challenges he faces in establishing Saregama as an entertainment powerhouse with stress on bottomline.

     

    Excerpts:

    How has Saregama managed to turn around after slipping into the red?

    We have put in place a five-year strategy. We have decided where to place our bets and where to withdraw. We, for instance, have taken a stance that we won’t get into owning radio stations. We have divided our businesses, are getting into adjacent areas and have identified touch points.

    What is the plan for the music business with T-series grabbing the lion’s share in acquiring rights to new Hindi movies?

    We have decided to be a content company in music and not a distributor of CDs and cassettes. We will create, acquire and make available to consumers music while remaining platform agnostic. We will be exploiting different delivery systems like mobile and radio. That is a positioning we have taken as part of our restructuring strategy. And we are buying music rights for new Hindi movies like Gangster, Bluff Master, Anwar, Kaliyug and Vivah.

    Have you tied up with the mobile and FM radio station operators?

    We are doing such deals through the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) and the Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL). That is a strategic decision which we took upfront. We have tied up with all the mobile operators. We also see upside in revenues from radio stations which would soon be springing up across the country. Out of our total revenues, 15 per cent comes from digital format. Our earnings from digital exploitation should go up. Digitisation is critical to our business model.

    What are your digital initiatives?

    We are launching an entertainment portal and it is likely to be called saregama.com. The aim is to make it the digital supermarket of entertainment. Consumers can download music and later on we will add movies. We are behind schedule by four months as we are adding many other features.

    How much of Saregama’s library is digitised?

    We have digitised 190,000 out of the 300,000 tracks we own. We will have the remaining content digitised and work on it will start by April-May. This process, in fact, has helped us discover our vast library. We, for instance, came to know that we have 30,000 tracks in Tamil. The challenge is for us to go out and make our products locally relevant.
    ‘Valuations are too high at this stage for acquisitions. We are in the make rather than buy mode‘

    Saregama had stopped producing movies as it started losing money. Why is it making a re-entry?

    When we sat down and took stock of the company, we decided that we had to be on the content side of the business. We identified our second vertical should be films because it is adjacent to music. The ecosystem is changing and we believe technology will have an impact. The game will change dramatically and we won’t have to depend entirely on the current star-loaded model.

    What is the business model you are adopting?

    We have identified creative people to head the business. We have taken on board BR Sharan of Lalita-ji Surf ad fame and noted film actor-director Aparna Sen who will look after the Hindi and Bangla movies. We will be producing movies in these two languages initially. Bangla is a widely spoken language and the overseas population (including Bangladesis) is large. There is shortage of good content and we can create a business out of this market. Noted cinematographer Vijaylakshmi will also be involved.

    What will be the budget size and how many movies will Saregama be producing in a year?

    We may start with mid-budget movies and see how we can scale up along the way. We have just taken in the people and will be firming up the business plan within three months. We will try and build a financial logarithm to movie making. Our focus will be to make good movies with strong scripts.

    Saregama already produces TV content in the southern languages. Will you be expanding into Hindi as well?

    We produce 14 hours of programming per week for the Sun group of channels. We will be transferring that capability to the other languages. We have Sharan, Sen and Vijaylakshmi to take care of the TV content business.

    Saregama was in negotiations to buy controlling stake in K Balachandar’s TV content company Min Bimbangal, but the talks failed. Is there a conscious decision not to take the acquisition route?

    We are in the phase where we realise that capability build up is crucial to us. We were in the buy mode, but now have decided to be rather in the `make your own product’ mood. Valuations are too high at this stage and the overall company philosophy is that we make rather than buy. It is because of a mix of both these reasons that we are not acquiring.

    Do you have plans to ramp up your home video business?

    We are exclusive partners with some major Hollywood studios like Paramount, Warner Bros, Universal, Dreamworks and MGM for distribution of their home videos in India. We have access to 20,000 films and it contributes around Rs 250-300 million to our revenues. It is a nice business to be in. If we can expand our relationships with the studios into other areas, it will be a big ticket for us. We also distribute Hindi movies but our fundamental positioning in the home video segment is that we provide the best of international flavour.

    Moser Baer has entered the home video segment and drastically dropped down prices of VCDs and DVDs. How do you see that impacting the industry?

    We don’t believe in price drops as a competitive strategy if we can hold them firm. People, after all, buy content. They will pay more for better content.

    Will you be getting into event management as well?

    We will have a presence in this vertical as it brings consumers and entertainment together. Our broad plan is to be available for music, home video, theatrical, domestic and international consumers.

    Saregama was earlier thinking of merging its two overseas subsidiary companies RPG Global Music and Saregama Plc. Is that plan dead now?

    We are happy being in the state of status quo. Our focus is to first fix the business and create clean surpluses in each subsidiary company so that they become robust. We use them to deliver products to consumers in different areas of the world. While Saregama Plc focuses on the UK, US, Europe, Canada, Caribbeans and South Africa, RPG Global looks at Middle East, South East asia and New Zealand. And as India globalises, our subsidiaries will become good and strong.

    What is the status of HamaraCD.com?

    We are changing the positioning and it will become B2C. Consumers can place an order and we will get it delivered to them.

    How much will Saregama be investing for expanding its business?

    We will be firming up our fund requirement after we decide what we will make and what we will buy. We are evaluating our options and haven’t taken the decision yet. We have been busy cleaning up our operations and strategising to be in businesses where our performance not only becomes successful but also sustainable.

    Won’t Saregama forego a big opportunity by chalking out a slow process of growth while some media companies are taking an aggressive route?

    We have been funding our growth from internal operations and internal accruals. Our purpose is to keep tight control and make the businesses sustainable. Our ability to accelerate will be better two years later. We have not yet become a creative hothouse as we were earlier. We are preparing ourselves towards that. The entertainment industry needs management bandwidth to run the businesses. None of that was required in this industry earlier. But those days are gone.

    Will you not then be left with too little space in the marketplace?

    We will be moving fast in the areas of exploitation, music and cinema content. We have formed business units and are building competitive advantage and strategy for them. If those dots join up, then it will be very exciting for us.
  • Saregama to launch entertainment portal

    Saregama to launch entertainment portal

    MUMBAI: As part of its restructuring strategy, India’s oldest music company Saregama is increasing its digital presence. The RPG Group firm is launching an entertainment portal where it will make available music, movies and a whole host of other products.

    Consumers can download music through the portal and movies will be added on. “We will have a subscription and ad revenue model as well. The portal is likely to be called saregama.com. The aim is to make the portal the digital supermarket of entertainment,” says RPG Enterprises – Entertainment Sector president and CEO Subroto Chattopadhyay.

    Saregama generates 15 per cent of its revenues from the digital format. The company’s turnover stood at Rs 1.19 billion during the fiscal ended 31 March 2006.

    Saregama has also digitised 190,000 out of the 300,000 tracks it owns. “We will have the remaining content digitised. We will start work on it by April-May. We have a vast library of content. During the digitisation process, we discovered that we had 30,000 tracks in Tamil. The challenge is for us to go out and make our products locally relevant,” says Chattopadhyay.

    The company is making a re-entry into films and has taken on board BR Sharan of Lalita-ji Surf ad fame and noted film actor-director Aparna Sen who will look after the Hindi and Bangla movies. “We will be producing movies in these two languages initially. We have taken in Sharan and Sen for this purpose,” says Chattopadhyay.

    Saregama is also going to produce TV content in Hindi and Bangla. Sharan, Sen and noted cinematographer Vijaylakshmi will be taking care of the TV content business as well. The company already produces 14 hours of programming per week for the Sun network channels.
     

  • mobile2win, Saregama to distribute Rahul Sharma’s album ‘Ladakh – In Search of Buddha’

    mobile2win, Saregama to distribute Rahul Sharma’s album ‘Ladakh – In Search of Buddha’

    MUMBAI: mobile2win, mobile VAS platform company has partnered with Saregama for the wireless distribution of Rahul Sharma’s latest album ‘Ladakh – In Search of Buddha’.

    Mobile2win has been mandated to distribute mobile content around this album to all telcos and media houses in the country. They will be providing mobile content which includes imagery – wallpapers and music clips – ringtones in monotones, polytones, trutones. One can download ringtones by simply going through browser pages of their operator network. The Ladakh tones are live on the decks of operators to download and consumers are eligible for mobile phones as lucky draw prizes.

    The ‘Ladakh – In Search of Buddha’ content can be downloaded onto any GPRS enabled handsets via the Mobile2Win zone through major mobile operators like Airtel, Hutch, BPL, Idea, Spice, Reliance, BSNL, MTNL, Tata etc covering all circles across the country. This content has also been made available to leading media entities for downloads to their consumers.

    mobile2win India country head Rajiv Hiranandani says, “mobile2win is committed to bringing music and entertainment onto the fingertips of millions of mobile consumers. The demand for good content will always be there and we will make sure it is met via exclusive mobile content and applications.”

  • ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’ music: Saregama wins interim injunction against T Series

    ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’ music: Saregama wins interim injunction against T Series

    MUMBAI: The Kolkata High Court has passed an interim order against Super Cassettes Industries Ltd. (T Series) on December 1, 2006, preventing the music label from marketing the version recording of the song Babuji from the (1954) film Aar Paar, used in the Hindi film, Salaam-e-Ishq, following a petition by Saregama India Ltd. (‘Saregama’) that the latter held the copyright to the song.

    The producers of the yet-to-be released film, Mad Orion Pictures, sought permission from the copyright holders of the song, Saregama, to use the version of the original song in their upcoming film.

    Such permission was granted on the condition that while the song could be picturised on and used only in the film itself, it was not to be sold as a recording on any audio cassettes or CD’s. However, in violation of the license, the producers gave the music rights to T Series who have released the song, asserts an official release.

    Following this a case was filed by Saregama in Kolkata High Court and following a hearing late last week, an interim order has been passed to the effect that the music of the film cannot be sold until further orders from the Court. The matter is due to appear for hearing on 10 December 2006.

  • Saregama to open online music store

    Saregama to open online music store

    MUMBAI: Move over Apple. Music label Saregama India is set to enter the online music market aimed entirely at the “generation on the go”.

    The company is expected to launch the beta version of its online service by the end of June, while the official launch is likely to happen in August, barring any glitches. However, the company is yet to zero in on the name of the service.

    The new venture will be part of the listed entity Saregama India Ltd.

    Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, Saregama India VP publishing and new media Atul Churamani says, “Indeed we are marching towards the digital music revolution. We have already singed in 43 South Indian music labels.”

    Through Saregama online music service, songs can be downloaded to PC, copied to CD, mobile, played on a portable iPod or another digital instrument. The company will also make services and features available, including streaming videos, movies, television software, games and e-radio for purchase.

    As music-buffs are hungry to get music from new convenient and flexible sources, Churamani further adds, “We are committed to make a huge music catalogue available online and are in talks with the bigges of the Bollywood industry also to share their music library.”

    Churamani, however, was not forthcoming on the revenue sharing model the company has established with its associates. For the initial period, Saregama will be deriving its revenues through the pay-per-song model (Rs 12/song), according to Churamani. As of now, Saragama has an online bank of 70,000 songs. The software for the new servive has been developed and powered by mobile2win.

    Saregama India already runs a service HamaraCD.com, which provides an option of creating your own audio CDs of your favourite songs. The music company has a vast catalogue cutting across all genres and languages, includes film music, devotional, ghazals and classical music, Indi pop, remixes and regional songs.

    Internationally, the service is already being provided most famously through Apple’s iTunes. Napster and the recently launched Urge (a tie-up between MTV networks and Microsoft) are also in the online music game.

    For India too, the digital music era is now close at hand.

  • Saregama to open online music store

    Saregama to open online music store

    MUMBAI: Move over Apple. Music label Saregama India is set to enter the online music market aimed entirely at the “generation on the go”.

    The company is expected to launch the beta version of its online service by the end of June, while the official launch is likely to happen in August, barring any glitches. However, the company is yet to zero in on the name of the service.

    The new venture will be part of the listed entity Saregama India Ltd. 

    Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, Saregama India VP publishing and new media Atul Churamani says, “Indeed we are marching towards the digital music revolution. We have already singed in 43 South Indian music labels.”

    Through Saregama online music service, songs can be downloaded to PC, copied to CD, mobile, played on a portable iPod or another digital instrument. The company will also make services and features available, including streaming videos, movies, television software, games and e-radio for purchase.

    As music-buffs are hungry to get music from new convenient and flexible sources, Churamani further adds, “We are committed to make a huge music catalogue available online and are in talks with the bigges of the Bollywood industry also to share their music library.”

    Churamani, however, was not forthcoming on the revenue sharing model the company has established with its associates. For the initial period, Saregama will be deriving its revenues through the pay-per-song model (Rs 12/song), according to Churamani. As of now, Saragama has an online bank of 70,000 songs. The software for the new servive has been developed and powered by mobile2win.

    Saregama India already runs a service HamaraCD.com, which provides an option of creating your own audio CDs of your favourite songs. The music company has a vast catalogue cutting across all genres and languages, includes film music, devotional, ghazals and classical music, Indi pop, remixes and regional songs.

    Internationally, the service is already being provided most famously through Apple’s iTunes. Napster and the recently launched Urge (a tie-up between MTV networks and Microsoft) are also in the online music game.

    For India too, the digital music era is now close at hand.

  • CII throws producers networking party at Cannes

    CII throws producers networking party at Cannes

    CANNES: At the Cannes Film Mart, the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) threw a producers networking party yesterday in the International Village. Attended by many Indians from all over the world, the party also had some producers and distributors from Canada in attendance.

    The Indian brigade who attended comprised Sudhir Mishra, Ruchika Narain, Krishna Shah, Amit Bhatnagar, Sahara One’s Sandeep Bhargava, Celluloid Dreams’ Kanad Kashyap and Divya Seengal, iDream CEO Ashish Bhatnagar and Rohit Sharma, Aditya Bhattacharya and Saregama CEO Subroto Chattopadhya.

    The party, a good initiative from CII, provided a chance for Indians the world over to network together. What would help is if many more international producers, financiers, distributors, buyers would also make it to such parties.