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After making its mark on the Mumbai party circuit, restaurant and pub Blue Frog is expanding to other avenues of entertainment. It is sharpening its plans for television programming and live concerts, apart from expanding its restaurant franchise.
It recently launched its amphitheatre in Pune, after opening in Delhi. A club format will follow later this month and a Bangalore launch next year.
Simran Mulchandani, managing director, Blue Frog says, "Pune is a vibrant market with respect to music and we want to grow a community of like-minded individuals who will help us develop a "hub" for the arts such as our partners Ishan Bhale and Govind Thakker of DICE Hospitality.".
Named after many names had been tossed around and in an act of desperation, Blue Frog started six years back. It has hosted live performances since, encouraging newcomers.
It now has some of the best live performance footage. Its content creation arm, called FROGtv, curates the content and is now making it available for syndication on TV channels and inflight viewing, besides it YouTube channel.
Blue Frog has ventured into TV production with Sound Trek on Fox Traveller. It is a music travelogue series that has artists collaborating across different genres, reminiscent of The Dewarists, produced by Star India.
Mulchandani says, "Judging by sponsors' interest in the show, the concept has proven to be a solid one to grow further."
He adds, "FROGtv has been operational for four years, creating everything from Frog Shorts (clips of band performances) to the ABSOLUT blueFROG Diaries which have been on Jet Airways and Malaysian Airways. These episodes with Indian and international artists shot in various locations in Bombay and at the club. We continue to create and aggregate content. With Sound Trek we have entered full-fledged TV programming and production."
BlueFrog is working with various sponsors to create films which will tap into its growing production capabilities, creating bespoke content for brands, much like production houses or ad agencies.
Mulchandani says the company would eventually segregate the revenue streams such as food and beverage, TV programming, FROGtv and even franchising.
"Six years ago, the city really didn't have any venues catering to live music, we changed that. But in changing it, we also opened ourselves up to competition. To differentiate, we have reinvented ourselves, and drawn upon our strengths such as top-class acoustics." says Mulchandani.
He cites the tie-up with Coke Studio, its properties for the youth such as Metal Nights and The Scene, the popular Retro Nights and even curating comedy evenings with The Comedy Store in Mumbai as examples of its efforts to stay ahead in the game.
Blue Frog ensures a fresh stream of talent by letting new artists perform. In 2010, it launched The Early Set. This gave aspiring artists a stage early-on in their career.
The artists are encouraged to actively promote themselves to bring in footfalls. The club drums up enough noise on its social media platforms.
The Early Set gave birth to the talent hunt leapFROG for Coke Studio that saw over 300 entries from around the country, with the finals being held at Blue Frog, Mumbai. The winner got a chance to appear on season three of Coke Studio.
