Sony Music Independent which started â€?Live from the Console’ along with Oranjuice Entertainment, to give new indie bands an alternative platform to showcase their best emerging acts will extend its reach this year. Besides Mumbai, the property will spread in other cities namely Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and Pune.
Jayesh Veralkar– label head Day 1, who has nurtured the property from its roots is striving hard to make it a leading music destination without chasing enough moolah. From January, Sony Music has also started the property twice in a month and soon plans to foray into the web world with live streaming of Console. A music fest for indie artiste is expected by year-end.
Veralkar in a conversation with Radioandmusic.com’s Poonam Ahuja reveals the challenges that the Console has gone through in the previous months, its business strategies, revenue model and future plans.
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Excerpts:
Console is going twice in a month this year.
We started going twice in a month from 7 Jan which was our first edition, followed by the other on 21 Jan. The reason for going twice in a month is the overwhelming response that we have received from our audience and the sponsor â€?Rowson Reserve Smooth Spaces’ who has come on board (in October)and supported the initiative. Unlike earlier were we featured only Bombay based bands, now we program international and out station bands also.
Sony is also planning to expand the reach of Console. When and where?
Apart from Mehboob Studio in Bandra, we are planning to start Console in Kolkata by March and in Chennai by April-May as these are the two cities where there are not much live music venues. Off course we have been receiving good response which stands as a very strong reason for us to extend the reach but now with the sponsor on board we can afford and manage the production better.
After Phase 2, we would launch Console in Delhi and Pune also. We are not targeting Bangalore at present as it has many music venues and is in much proximity with Chennai where we will have the property.
How does Console generate revenues?
We are not making much money from Console as we generate revenues only from gate entry and F&B (liquor that we sell). We obviously want to cover the initial cost but the whole idea behind Console is not to make money. We have kept the entry fee also very nominal and we have decided to promote Console only through strong social media platform and word of mouth. It is not a profit making venture but pretty much a well sustained model where our costs are getting covered.
What was the idea behind launching â€?Live from the Console’?
The idea behind Console was to provide a music discovery platform for emerging bands and a place for people to enjoy music purely. Most of the clubs and pubs which showcase live bands have music as one of their USP along with food and beverages (F&B), and hence their focus is equally divided among all the three. But we felt that the music discovery platform where we get to hear new bands which we haven’t heard off was missing in the current scenario. So, we decided to come up with such a platform that would showcase and value only live music. The entry fee at â€?The Console’ is only Rs. 150 and the alcoholics/beverages sold out are also very cheap. The entire entertainment scene is extremely affordable.
Adding flavor to all these elements is the recording theatre, an iconic venue where bollywood sound tracks used to get recorded in 1950-60’s and our partner Oranjuice Entertainment who have supported the initiative. So, the acoustics of the venue and superior quality of production by Oranjuice has made Console a very unique property.
Sony came up with Console in July last year, How has the response been so far?
The response has been incredible from day one and the main reason for success is our focus on live music and bands. People have discovered bands which they hadn’t heard before so the response has been quite overwhelming. The promotional tour where we create a ten minute documentary of the entire event has spread like a viral and has increased our audiences. In this way people have heard about the Console in Delhi & Bangalore also.
Today digital has become a prominent promotional tool and it could help Console reach internationally. Any plans of foraying into the web world with live streaming of Console?
Currently, Console is not live streamed but it is promoted online through social media platforms. We create videos after every event which is put up on our Youtube channel and facebook. We are working on getting Console live streamed very soon.
How do you choose the documentaries that are featured on Console?
We pick up documentaries from Sony’s repertoire on the basis of programming themes. The format of the show is a feature length music documentary followed by singer/songwriter and then performances by two bands which we program on the basis of their genre. The documentaries featured are hour long and the show timings are 6.30-12pm.
What is Label Head – Day 1?
Day 1 is Sony Music’s independent label; it is a brand identity for our trade business where we segregate our major label business and what we want to do in our independent music scene. Apart from Console, we have two other initiatives under Day 1- Zomba Indian Hip hop portal and Folktronics which has Indian music in urban format.
Are there any major challenges or difficulties that the Console has faced?
Everything from production, programming, venue to marketing was a challenge. Owen Roncon from Oranjuice Entertainment discovered the venue and getting permission & convincing the Recording Studio owners took some time. Secondly, we don’t program established bands and it was purely fresh upcoming bands who may not have a fan base so it was quite a risky task to feature them. The third challenge was the money invested because we couldn’t recover the money we had invested on the production and F&B as we had kept the prices very affordable and accessible.
So these were the initial challenges but the concept today has worked out so well that it has overcome all the challenges. The concept and the property itself has become so strong that it has become a perfect place to hang out on a Saturday in Bandra.
Which are the major plans for the Console this year?
We want to end this year with an indie music festival from the Console. It will be a two-day fest featuring established as well as upcoming artistes. We are working on the idea and are yet to finalize the venue and date.
