Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Jan 06, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Jan 06, 2006 |
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Marketing
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Trends Variety - Music & Dance CD sales scale new high this music season Abhinav Ramnarayan
Chennai , Jan. 5 THE music season in Chennai is a busy time for record companies and music stores in and around the city, with Carnatic CDs recording maximum sales during this period. HMV, for example, sells about 75,000 CDs a year, of which 45,000 are sold during the season alone, according to Mr Umesh Pai, Business Manager, Saregama (Southern Region). And this season has been even better in terms of sales. Saraswathi Stores, an outlet of AVM Studios, has posted sales of Rs 1.1 crore this year compared to Rs 86 lakh last year. What could be the reason for this? "VCD players and MP3 and CD sets have become household products now," said Mr K. Viswanathan, Manager, AVM Studios (South Zone). He cited the increased discount — 20 per cent this season compared to 10 per cent earlier — for the increased sales. The season is a busy time for recording companies not just in terms of distribution, but also in terms of recording fresh material. Charsur Digital Workstation, a company that brings out CDs of live recordings, is kept busy hopping from one concert to another, along with its 24-bit 94-kilohertz sound equipment. Asked about the financial viability of investing in a product that does not cater to the masses, Ms Charubala, one of the partners at Charsur, said that while the margins may not be huge, it was still a profitable business. "Perhaps from an investment of Rs 10 lakh I may expect to make Rs 14 lakh over a period of time, so your true businessman may not enter this line of work, but the profitability factor is definitely there," she said. Each recording-in-concert costs Rs 1.5 -2 lakh, she said, which can be recovered in about a year-and-a-half. "If it were a very popular artist, perhaps in a year, but overall if I break even in one-and-a-half years, I would consider a job well done," she said. On the other hand, the shelf life of the Carnatic music CD is much longer than popular music. Fifteen years at least, according to Dr Sathish Kumar, Rajalakshmi Audio, a Coimbatore-based company. Ms Charubala corroborates, saying that a Musiri Subramania Iyer cassette recorded in 1961 still sells. HMV, however, has made no live recording for three years now. "It is not financially viable," said Mr Pai, adding that with piracy and increased downloading capabilities, the music industry in general has suffered. He said that it takes too long to break even, especially with Carnatic music, whose audience is restricted to the South. Dr Kumar does not agree. He said that the industry was flourishing, with a 20 per cent increase in sales this year.
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