Mumbai: The year 2022 is very important for the cinema and music world. Many big banner films are to be released here. Music companies are also busy wooing the audience with their attractive content in terms of music. However, the corona epidemic seems to be putting a brake on the work of the entertainment world as well. In this context, Bhushan Kumar, Managing Director of T-Series Music and Film Company, had a special conversation with a Hindi newspaper where he talks openly about the challenges of the pandemic, the upcoming journey of the music industry, and many other topics.
What will 2022 be like for the music industry and what are the challenges ahead of you?
In the last few years, many beneficial things have emerged in the music industry. Like OTT, many music apps came into the market like Spotify and Reels. Due to this, the scope of promotion increased and all the music companies started making better content. Many people are falling ill due to Corona and it is difficult to do creative work in this situation. In 2020-21 we worked on many songs but not all got success as it has its own different audience. For example, some songs would have been a hit in the clubs but due to the pandemic, they did not get that exposure. Unless Jubin Nautiyal Guru Randhawa or Honey Singh popularizes his songs by going public and performing among them, it will not be that much of a hit. In 2020, the show didn’t even take place, the shutdown-starting period continued and from the beginning of 2022, things started shutting down. So all these challenges are before us.
How much do these challenges bother you as a producer due to the pandemic?
In the end, it is business and we are a successful company due to which we have the ability to face these challenges. There are many opportunities for the music industry to move forward, but the current situation is not good. I can’t predict but as a producer, all we want is the end of the pandemic so that life gets back on track.
According to the report of the Indian Music Industry, the annual income of the Indian music industry is decreasing. What is the reason for this?
The increasing outbreak of Covid-19 is a big reason for this because songs are being made, but if they are not popular among the people, then where will the income come from. The platforms are many and the royalty of music is also very less. There are many internal revenue issues here that need to be resolved. This also affects the earnings of music. We follow the advertising model in our country where we make our songs available on Saavn and other apps. If more and more people subscribe to these apps then it will be great otherwise these music apps earn only through promotion. In our country, the trend of listening to music by paying subscription on apps is not so popular due to which companies have to make their revenue through ads.
What gift will T-Series bring to the audience in 2022?
2-3 years ago we started doing non-film songs in full swing and now we are Punjabi. Haryanvi and Bhojpuri artists are busy promoting such songs in their languages. Talking about films, today we are making films of every genre so that we can bring all kinds of content to the audience. How difficult was it to get a 200 million viewership? I have never given a target to my team that we have to make so many subscribers. We became the first YouTube channel to reach the 100 million mark and now we can reach 200 million in 2 years. This is the result of creating great content, due to which we have got this success. People are watching and listening to our content more, due to which we were successful. It is very expensive to put an ad on Times Square but they did it in our honor, due to which I feel very happy.
Have you been able to make your father Gulshan Kumar’s dream come true?
My father had set up a music label, but his big dream was to become a T-Series film company. We worked on it for so many years. When the right time came and the digital world started, we stepped into it. In the next 2-3 years, we are producing 60 to 70 films.
