In 2012, the music industry was brimming with festivals, big ticket concerts, consolidations and comebacks and overall it marked to be an eventful year.
The vanguards of the ‘old’ industry- the vinyl (which made a small comeback) and CDs (hanging on amidst slipping sales) jostled for space with new entrants like streamed and mobile music and much disliked pirated music.
Everyone expects more excitement in 2013 as new players like iTunes establish themselves, new tie-ups announced, and labels and brands vie for market leadership positions.
Related Post
In a free-wheeling conversation with major label Times Music’s COO Mandar Thakur, Radioandmusic.com got an inside view on what makes the Indian music market so unique and exciting, how 2012 fared and what can be expected from 2013.
Excerpts:
How does the Indian market stand out from other regional markets- in South Asia and developed music markets- in terms of retail and taste in music?
I think the pure diversity of India sets it apart from other regional markets, we are a continent practically. With every state having its own language, films, pop stars it gives even smaller labels at grass root level a chance to discover talent. And when marketed well enough, that talent can truly become a national icon. Take, for example, (Punjabi rap artist) Honey Singh, who just rapped in a South Indian movie. We still have some catching up to do with the developed markets though. We need to be able to show the consumer the value of music. Given the right infrastructure, we will be a much richer market for music than even the developed ones. Importantly, our sheer amount of population presents the biggest opportunity for the correct “Sound”.
Which verticals are the growth drivers for the music market?
I have always maintained over the last five years that ‘access’ will be the driver. Today with 3G, 4G / LTE & cheaper costs of such with heightened device proliferation this data dream is now a reality. We at Times Music, have successfully implemented a massive data business that encompasses mobile apps, mobile internet services and third party licensed partners.
Has the digital and mobile platform taken over the music market or has physical sales still managing to hold on?
For Times Music, physical sales has not completely diminished purely due to the timeless nature of some of our content. It will take a while for Indian classical music audience to make the shift to digital music. That being said, for other categories of music like pop, Sufi, ghazal etc, we earn maximum revenues through digital sales. On the whole–net digital is a majority and will continue to rise.
How has the year -2012- been for the music industry-especially the labels and (of course Times Music)?
It’s been a great year for the music industry. The industry finally seemed to come out of the physical sales coma it was suffering from and focus its attention on newer avenues for growth. We saw a lot of great events, the launch of new digital music services, the rise of YouTube, and then a great Christmas present – iTunes. Secondly, independent and non-Bollywood music had its fair share in the limelight and that area will only grow this year.
For Times Music, which segment of the music-Bollywood / Indie pop / Classical / Devotional- have been the best performer.
Bollywood, just by virtue of its reach and visibility tends to outperform other genres. We’ve also seen a massive spike in Sufi, Ghazal and Fusion album sales last year. International has picked up tremendously with the launch of iTunes.
Your forecast for 2013?
Times Music has been on a consistent growth path with a well laid strategy as a IP management business. We will continue to seamlessly execute that strategy and implement our business according to plan. Importantly, Times Music will be very active in the Bollywood genre this year as we’ve finished Phase 1 and 2 of our consolidation across music, wellness and publishing. Expect 2-3 key announcements to happen soon.
