InConversation: Vikram Mehra, MD, Saregama India with Arpita Mukherjee, Professor, ICRIER

Post pandemic, entertainment industry's future - Music, OTT and content coexist

It’s a different experience watching movies in a theatre, catching up with friends and family over a bucket of popcorn and cheering on a high point of the movie, which can’t be replaced by streaming. The experience of 3D and 4D movies can only be enjoyed in movie theatres.

 

But we have witnessed that paid subscribers to OTT (over-the-top) platforms (e.g. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar) have increased at an explosive pace during the COVID pandemic. Recently, a few movies have been released directly to OTTs. New OTT platforms are being launched every day, – are they posing a serious threat to theatres or can they replace the theater experience? Is the OTT platform binge-watching more affordable for binge-watchers or are they enhancing the experience for those who cannot go to the theatres? Also, regarding the cost-effectiveness versus experience, is there a need to pay for each and every movie separately, when people can watch plenty of movies and other content for just a subscription price?

 

 

Saregama is a firm that either creates or monetizes IP, which can be short or long format music or podcasts. They are an IP company, and we will continue to create new IPs and finding innovative ways to monetize that IP through the products launched.

The media industry allows content providers to choose from a variety of venues and methods for reaching out to their audience. Now, you know, with all of these different ways to get your content out to the public, there’s always the question of how the profits is distributed, what will survive, what will perish, and what will happen to the subscriptions of the various platforms that we’ll look into.

“The other component, which is a niche in my profession, is that I don’t believe entertainment in our country is very heroic, and when I say heroic, I mean it. I believe that we should place far more emphasis on our writers, composers, and lyricists than merely a face we will see in front of the camera. I believe that more work needs to be done in the field”

Vikram Mehra is the Managing Director for Saregama India that also has a film studio – Yoodlee Films, and is also the current Chairman of Indian Music Industry, the apex body representing music companies in India. As a TAS officer, Vikram had successful stints at several Tata Group organizations, including Tata Motors and TCS. Prior to joining Saregama, he worked at Tata Sky for 10 years. He has also worked at Star as Vice President for 4 years spearheading Star’s foray into DTH and cable services. And, as a result of his illustrious career and expertise, we can confidently assert that he is the Indian music industry’s direction setter, and a patron of taking the music industry into the global platform.

Vikram sets a high bar for every media business in terms of content, OTT, consumer attention, and monetization of media business in The Economic Times exclusive Series of Conversations with the senior leadership of India Inc., where he also sheds light on how OTT and the screen coexist in this world of COVID-19 pandemic.

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