On August 12, 1997, businessman Gulshan Kumar was murdered outside a temple at Andheri (West) in Mumbai. It was left for his 19-year-old son, Bhushan Kumar, to run the privately-held "T-Series" empire that comprised music, consumer electronics, FMCGs and even packaged water. Bhushan knew the grave responsibility that had fallen on his young shoulders. "Chane bechunga," he had said when asked if he had a Plan B ready in case his inexperience ruined the business. Sixteen years later, it is clear that no Plan B is required. Sitting in his contemporary office at Andheri, not far from where Yash Raj Films is headquartered, Bhushan adds final touches on his Mac Mini to a presentation he has to make to none other than Amitabh Bachchan: he has a film in mind and wants to convince Bachchan to work in it. Soon, he zips off in his Ferrari to do the hard-sell to the ageing superstar.
Bhushan, the 35-year-old. soft-spoken chairman & managing director of Super Cassettes Industries, is the uncrowned king of Bollywood music. He owns the music of most big releases which he sells on mobile phones (through a tie-up with Hungama), to music channels, radio stations and ordinary people - physically as well as digitally. He paid Rs 7 crore to ensure that the music of Chennai Express, Shah Rukh Khan's rehabilitation film, didn't go to a rival. He has given Rs 12 crore to bag the music for Salman Khan's upcoming movies, Kick and Mental, Rs 5 crore for Hrithik Roshan's much-awaited Krrish3 and another Rs 5 crore for Ranbir Kapoor's Besharam.
Bollywood music is an annual business of Rs 1,100 crore. Bhushan controls almost 35 per cent of it. He has the largest catalogue of film songs in the country - 200,000 songs and as many as 35,000 music videos of all genres. "A huge catalogue allows you to offer a full bouquet to your buyer," Bhushan explains. For example, FM stations or television channels not only want songs from SRK's Chennai Express but also music from his other films and romantic songs of other heroes so that they can offer a package to their consumers.
His closest rival is Sony Music which has a library of 10,000 titles even after it acquired Magnasound. In digital music downloads, Bhushan's share is 22 per cent. (This business is lucrative; profit margins can be as high as 70 per cent, compared to 30 per cent in physical sales, because of zero distribution costs.) The T-Series channel on YouTube, launched in 2011, has gathered one million users and has registered over 730 million hits. Bhushan, after all, is the most prolific buyer of music rights of Hindi films. He picks up as many as 25-30 films every year at a cost of almost Rs 100 crore. And the returns are handsome, to say the least: his annual music turnover is Rs 350 crore.
Bhushan says he is just following the strategy of his father, Gulshan Kumar. His father had started out as the owner of a fruit-juice kiosk in Delhi before he shook the music industry in the 1980s by selling "cover versions" of popular film music (old numbers sung by new artists) at rock-bottom prices. Rivals alleged that he was violating the copyright laws, but Gulshan Kumar stayed the course. He put up large factories to make cassettes - every part, including the screws, was made in-house. Leveraging his large rural distribution network, he diversified into soaps, detergents and consumer electronics. When he died in 1997, Gulshan Kumar was all of 41.
"I learnt from him that a music company has to work on the conviction of its owner. You cannot leave this job to a professional. He must understand the public taste and not get swayed by his own," says Bhushan. So he listens to over 600 songs every year, out of which only the ones he endorses make the final cut. The other lesson he learnt from his father is that relationships matter a lot in filmdom. "Apart from the money, which is 50 per cent, the other 50 per cent is building relationships with stars and producers. Today many of the top stars won't sell their music to anyone else," Bhushan adds. There are other common traits too between father and son. Gulshan Kumar was deeply religious and would make music videos, often featuring himself, of artis and prayers. Bhushan hasn't ventured thus far, though it has been reported he got married (to actress Divya Khosla) at the Vaishno Devi temple near Jammu in 2005.
In some ways, Bhushan is also different from his down-to-earth father. He is fond of fast cars, especially his Ferrari. Those who know him say he keeps a close tab on every aspect of business, especially finance, and holds costs on a tight leash. "Even a Rs 100-bill has to have his endorsement," says someone who has known him for years. Also, while his father had promoted new talent like Anuradha Paudwal under the T-Series banner, Kumar prefers to keep away from such commitments.
Now, Bhushan wants to tighten his grip on Bollywood music. He plans to invest almost Rs 150 crore every year to make seven or eight films. (That's 50 per cent more than what he invests in music in a year.) Bhushan has already tasted success: Aashiqui 2, made on a budget of Rs 9 crore, did business of Rs 100 crore. He says that he expects films to add almost Rs 150 crore to his annual turnover. Bhushan is actually thinking ahead of the curve. "(Producing films) will increase our success rate in music as we will have better control over it," he says. "This I think will increase my success rate of choosing a hit song from 50 per cent now to at least 70-80 per cent, and that means more revenues." It is also true that producing, or even co-producing, a film will reduce his cost of acquiring its music. For instance, Bhushan says that buying the music rights for an SRK movie would cost him Rs 6-7 crore; if he produces the film, he can buy it for only Rs 2 crore - a third of the cost.
Bhushan's critics say that he is getting into movies because many of the large production houses are now holding the music rights with themselves, realising its revenue potential in the long run. That's why UTV, Eros, Big Films and Yash Raj Films have created their own music labels. And this could put him in trouble. But he brushes aside such concerns: "UTV started retaining its music only recently, but it gave us Satyagraha. Big Films gives all its music to us. Eros has given up retaining music. It's a difficult business as only a few songs make it big."
At the moment, Bhushan is spending a lot of time reading film scripts. "I hardly read anything else," he says smiling.
Bhushan, the 35-year-old. soft-spoken chairman & managing director of Super Cassettes Industries, is the uncrowned king of Bollywood music. He owns the music of most big releases which he sells on mobile phones (through a tie-up with Hungama), to music channels, radio stations and ordinary people - physically as well as digitally. He paid Rs 7 crore to ensure that the music of Chennai Express, Shah Rukh Khan's rehabilitation film, didn't go to a rival. He has given Rs 12 crore to bag the music for Salman Khan's upcoming movies, Kick and Mental, Rs 5 crore for Hrithik Roshan's much-awaited Krrish3 and another Rs 5 crore for Ranbir Kapoor's Besharam.
Bollywood music is an annual business of Rs 1,100 crore. Bhushan controls almost 35 per cent of it. He has the largest catalogue of film songs in the country - 200,000 songs and as many as 35,000 music videos of all genres. "A huge catalogue allows you to offer a full bouquet to your buyer," Bhushan explains. For example, FM stations or television channels not only want songs from SRK's Chennai Express but also music from his other films and romantic songs of other heroes so that they can offer a package to their consumers.
His closest rival is Sony Music which has a library of 10,000 titles even after it acquired Magnasound. In digital music downloads, Bhushan's share is 22 per cent. (This business is lucrative; profit margins can be as high as 70 per cent, compared to 30 per cent in physical sales, because of zero distribution costs.) The T-Series channel on YouTube, launched in 2011, has gathered one million users and has registered over 730 million hits. Bhushan, after all, is the most prolific buyer of music rights of Hindi films. He picks up as many as 25-30 films every year at a cost of almost Rs 100 crore. And the returns are handsome, to say the least: his annual music turnover is Rs 350 crore.
* * *
Bhushan says he is just following the strategy of his father, Gulshan Kumar. His father had started out as the owner of a fruit-juice kiosk in Delhi before he shook the music industry in the 1980s by selling "cover versions" of popular film music (old numbers sung by new artists) at rock-bottom prices. Rivals alleged that he was violating the copyright laws, but Gulshan Kumar stayed the course. He put up large factories to make cassettes - every part, including the screws, was made in-house. Leveraging his large rural distribution network, he diversified into soaps, detergents and consumer electronics. When he died in 1997, Gulshan Kumar was all of 41.
"I learnt from him that a music company has to work on the conviction of its owner. You cannot leave this job to a professional. He must understand the public taste and not get swayed by his own," says Bhushan. So he listens to over 600 songs every year, out of which only the ones he endorses make the final cut. The other lesson he learnt from his father is that relationships matter a lot in filmdom. "Apart from the money, which is 50 per cent, the other 50 per cent is building relationships with stars and producers. Today many of the top stars won't sell their music to anyone else," Bhushan adds. There are other common traits too between father and son. Gulshan Kumar was deeply religious and would make music videos, often featuring himself, of artis and prayers. Bhushan hasn't ventured thus far, though it has been reported he got married (to actress Divya Khosla) at the Vaishno Devi temple near Jammu in 2005.
In some ways, Bhushan is also different from his down-to-earth father. He is fond of fast cars, especially his Ferrari. Those who know him say he keeps a close tab on every aspect of business, especially finance, and holds costs on a tight leash. "Even a Rs 100-bill has to have his endorsement," says someone who has known him for years. Also, while his father had promoted new talent like Anuradha Paudwal under the T-Series banner, Kumar prefers to keep away from such commitments.
* * *
Now, Bhushan wants to tighten his grip on Bollywood music. He plans to invest almost Rs 150 crore every year to make seven or eight films. (That's 50 per cent more than what he invests in music in a year.) Bhushan has already tasted success: Aashiqui 2, made on a budget of Rs 9 crore, did business of Rs 100 crore. He says that he expects films to add almost Rs 150 crore to his annual turnover. Bhushan is actually thinking ahead of the curve. "(Producing films) will increase our success rate in music as we will have better control over it," he says. "This I think will increase my success rate of choosing a hit song from 50 per cent now to at least 70-80 per cent, and that means more revenues." It is also true that producing, or even co-producing, a film will reduce his cost of acquiring its music. For instance, Bhushan says that buying the music rights for an SRK movie would cost him Rs 6-7 crore; if he produces the film, he can buy it for only Rs 2 crore - a third of the cost.
Bhushan's critics say that he is getting into movies because many of the large production houses are now holding the music rights with themselves, realising its revenue potential in the long run. That's why UTV, Eros, Big Films and Yash Raj Films have created their own music labels. And this could put him in trouble. But he brushes aside such concerns: "UTV started retaining its music only recently, but it gave us Satyagraha. Big Films gives all its music to us. Eros has given up retaining music. It's a difficult business as only a few songs make it big."
At the moment, Bhushan is spending a lot of time reading film scripts. "I hardly read anything else," he says smiling.