Universal Music India returns to Bollywood, eyes bigger slice of storytelling pie
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Universal Music India has made a comeback to Bollywood after recent acquisitions and partnerships, while retaining its focus on non-film music.
It is now open to more deals across Hindi and regional language cinema and independent music as it eyes a stronger role in the storytelling space. The company, a division of Universal Music Group, acquired a 30% equity stake in film and digital content studio Excel Entertainment last month and entered into a strategic partnership with Dinesh Vijan’s production house Maddock Films and its new label Mad For Mussic last year.
These transactions, a senior company executive said, mirror the company’s belief in long-term deals and not participating in bidding wars when studios launch film soundtracks. Universal Music India reported a net profit of ₹29.5 crore on revenue of ₹638.6 crore for FY24, according to data from financial intelligence firm Tofler.
“We want to be part of the storytelling process," Devraj Sanyal, chairman and CEO, India, South Asia and senior vice-president strategy, Africa, Middle East and Asia at Universal Music India, said in an interview. “We won’t chase multiple new partnerships, but nothing is off the table for us.
We are looking at acquiring catalogues and companies across spaces—regional films, regional independent companies which are in the periphery of the businesses that we are in, like music and brands or our merchandise business." Sanyal said the company that owned the rights to hit yesteryear soundtracks such as Sholay, Bombay and Devdas did not like the traditional Bollywood model of soundtracks awarded usually to the highest bidder. Instead, it was focused on creating market share within the independent music
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