Saregama looks to liven up its biz with live shows, targets Gen Z, millennials and kids

The music label, part of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, which forayed into live events about two years ago is looking at strengthening the game with a three-pronged strategy. The company that has done around 100 shows across 40 cities and nine countries, is targeting younger Gen Z and millennial audiences with artist-led shows featuring the likes of Diljit Dosanjh and Himesh Reshammiya.

It also wants to speak to older audiences with IP (intellectual property)-based shows such as ‘Disco Dancer’, which are essentially musicals based on Bollywood classics whose songs the company holds rights to.

Moreover, the firm has launched a third property, ‘Say Cheese Grandpa’, which would be interactive shows targeted at kids under the age of 10. The company that also wants to build a stand-up comedy pipeline going forward, will be organizing a music festival called ‘UN40’ in Bengaluru aimed at Gen Z audiences, in March next year.

Live shows lift new vertical

Saregama’s financials are telling. It reported a 2% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit at ₹43.8 crore for the quarter ended September, compared to ₹44.9 crore in the same period last year. Revenue from operations fell 5% to ₹230 crore from ₹241.8 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY25. The live events vertical, however, surged to ₹22.2 crore from just ₹0.6 crore a year earlier.

“We have just dipped our toes (into live events) based on consumer research, which gave us confidence to start building this vertical in a much bigger fashion. We started only with artists led music concerts with Diljit (Dosanjh) and Himesh Reshammiya and are also creating IP based formats, where the first attempt was ‘Disco Dancer’ which we are also turning into a traveling show,” Vikram Mehra, managing director, Saregama India, said. Through its shows, the company is targeting Indians—in the country and abroad—and those familiar with Indian languages, he added.

The Diljit tour has travelled to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, while Reshammiya is slated to perform in Dubai, Mehra said, adding that the company is looking at large Indian cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Indore, and even smaller ones such as Bhopal and Rajkot over time too.

As it attempts to engage older audiences with music and talk shows featuring the likes of Javed Akhtar and Zeenat Aman, a separate and new focus has emerged around interactive kids’ shows under the ‘Say Cheese Grandpa’ brand, where music and comic content is planned for those under the age of 10.

“Every show done in India is 100% produced by us. We are not following the format of conceptualizing the show and selling it to a local promoter. This means we are hiring the venue, managing the security and stage and directly taking the financial liability of that particular show,” Mehra said, adding that in some cases, the company is also following the same model abroad as well.

Tapping india’s booming live events market

To be sure, Saregama sees value in positioning itself as an IP-driven company, and not just a music label, going forward. While live shows allow for better working dynamics with musicians and smoother artiste management, in general, Mehra said the company would eventually also look at monetizing these shows on digital platforms by streaming them online.

Saregama has already made attempts at strengthening its digital presence with the acquisition of a majority stake in digital entertainment company Pocket Aces Pictures Pvt Ltd, a youth-focused digital content creator and publisher.

Saregama’s move comes in the wake of a host of companies, including gaming firms and ticketing platforms, doubling down on India’s booming live events market. Rivals such as Nazara Technologies, Nodwin Gaming, Zomato’s District, BookMyShow, AEG Asia Pacific, and Reliance Industries’ Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) are among those expanding aggressively in this space. Esports and gaming major JetSynthesys is the latest entrant in the concert production business.

According to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and consulting firm EY, India’s live events business grew 15% year-on-year to cross ₹10,000 crore in 2024, and is projected to reach nearly ₹12,000 crore by end-2025.

Saregama is a relatively new player in the live events space that is dominated by BookMyShow, with an estimated 40-50% share, according to industry experts.

“Live events are a natural and logical business extension for a company like Saregama with a significant music catalogue and connections in the industry,” said Uday Sodhi, senior partner at Kurate Digital Consulting. “The space may be seasonal and not entirely steady given weather conditions in India but overall, music, artists and streaming content feed into each other and make for good synergy.”