Comments
Zee Music Company, the Zee Group’s music business with a subscriber base of 55.4 million on YouTube, will be looking at acquisitions in the next few years, said Anurag Bedi, the company’s business head.
The company’s focus will be to grow its catalogue organically and inorganically, Bedi told BusinessLine . “We will look out for opportunities that will be available to us in the next few years on acquisitions. We are more than happy to consider labels that want to sell out — we are more than happy to consider talking to them. We are expanding in the regional spaces, we are expanding by buying out some smaller players — we acquired a Gujarati catalogue last year — and we will continue to do so. We will solidify and strengthen our position as the number two music label, and grow significantly,” he explained.
On acquisitions, he said any ‘valuable library’, for instance, a retro label that is still consumed on the music front, will be on Zee Music’s radar.
India’s recorded music industry has seen “very good growth” in the last two years on the back of consumption on streaming and video platforms, said Bedi. The double-digit growth is likely to continue in the music industry, he said.
Zee Music has added almost 15-18 million subscribers on YouTube annually and Bedi is positive that the company will maintain that growth easily in the years to come. “As penetration happens faster in the smaller towns, we will see a better number in that as well,” he said.
Though Zee Music relies on films for its content, the current coronavirus-induced lockdown and its consequent impact on movie releases will not have a huge bearing on the company, he said. With some of these films being premiered on over-the-top (OTT) platforms, its music is also being released in sync, he pointed out.
Zee Music is also “significantly increasing” its presence in non-film music, he said. “With the rise of great new talent emerging from various parts of the country, I think the non-film piece becomes a vital growth opportunity for all of us here.”
Zee Music Company will also focus on launching and creating artists and building them into brands, he said, adding, “Artists is something we will keep investing in.” Besides this, the focus remains on creating content and new music, he added.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.