The Business Behind the Bollywood Music Project: an Interview with Deepak Choudhary

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Entertainment | October 26, 2016 | Interview

Bollywood Music Project Deepak Choudhary Event Capital TM Talent Management Jio Garden

On September 30 and October 1, Bollywood music lovers experienced an inimitable, unparalleled musical extravaganza that placed Bollywood music as a standalone genre in the music festival space. Live event IP company Event Capital, in alliance with talent management company TM Talent Management, jointly organised the first edition of ‘Radius Developers presents Hungama Bollywood Music Project' (BMP). The event kick-started the festival season in India, and was a massive success.

In this interview, we speak to Deepak Choudhary, Founder and Director of Event Capital, and find out more about the success of BMP, the business model and the future of this festival. 

What is it about the core concept of Bollywood Music Project that makes for a great IP?

BMP incepted from a very simple idea. There have been so many music festivals catering to the EDM loving audiences, nothing for Bollywood music lovers. In spite of the popularity and fan following of Bollywood music, no one was catering to this audience. That was the larger idea – to bring to life the originality of Bollywood to the heart of Bollywood.

To begin with, we had an advisory panel on board to curate the festival, which comprised of noted musicians and singers including Rekha Bharadwaj, Hariharan, Sajid-Wajid and Sunny M.R. These are some of the biggest names in the Bollywood music fraternity. We wanted to give Bollywood its own music festival and we wanted industry insiders to overlook it.

Event Capital creates, curates or acquires existing IPs, and BMP is one of our many IPs. This one, was created together with Tarsame Mittal. Tarsame manages some of the biggest names in Bollywood music, including Arijit Singh, Sajid-Wajid, Amit Trivedi, Rekha Bharadwaj, among many others.

Along with the array of musicians and singers, we wanted a leading Bollywood actor to lend their voice at the festival. We spoke to Sonakshi Sinha about the festival, and she was kicked! It was the first time fans would see her sing live! This is going to be a trend now. There will be a Bollywood star performing at every BMP, going forward.

Comment on the success of the property from the point of view of the challenges new IPs face in their debut edition?

It is challenging to manage economics in a large music IP business. Controlling costs is probably one of the biggest challenges we faced. It is common knowledge that it takes 2-3 years, minimum, for an IP to establish. In its very first year, BMP has reached the scale and economics of a second year property.

Another major challenge is marketing and packaging the property well. That of course, was relatively easy for us, since Event Capital is a part of the Laqshya Media Group.

What strategies proved to be successful in leading to the IP’s success?

The right venue, the right sponsors and the right partners!

Scoop Brand Holdings, the production partners, managed the economics well.

The venue, Jio Gardens was an apt choice as well. It is a fantastic venue, right in the heart of Mumbai. It is futuristic, it is accessible and it is convenient, thanks to the underground parking space. BMP couldn’t have debuted at a better venue.

The presenting sponsors, Radius Developers, was more than excited to come on board because BKC was the home of the festival. They got their stake-holders and key clients to experience BMP. Hungama, the title sponsor, live streamed the event for us. This could not have happened if the content wasn’t relevant to them. Nobody wants just a logo anymore. Sponsorship, in its old sense, doesn’t exist in India anymore. The clients get more value by doing that through television. Brands want a lot more integrated, experiential and activation support.

The BMP revenue model was a combination of sponsorships, tickets and F&B sales at the festival.

Comment on the market for music IPs in India - what are the factors that make or break an IP?

The market is pretty large. Properties like Sunburn, NH7, Supersonic and EVC, among others have created this market. There is an audience willing to spend money on tickets. This audience did not exist a few years ago. There is no doubt that people are willing to spend on music. For instance, in a city like Ahmedabad, where the entertainment opportunities are fewer, crowds would look forward to a festival like this. Ticket revenues here, would be very large.

The most important thing however, remains the content. Good content will always sell. Unparalleled content, combined with strategic packaging is what it takes to make a successful IP. 

What are the steps leading to profitability for an event IP?

Every large festival in the business invests a lot of money in year 1 and then reaps the benefits once it is established, after 3 or 4 years. That is the way to go. However, we made sure that BMP didn’t just burn money without doing any research. We avoided depending on trial and error. There was a lot of research done on the demand and the TG. Of course, there is no short cut to instant profits. Establishing an IP takes time, but if the content is good, profits are usually quicker.

What is the strategy for expanding the property in future years?

We’re working on a plan. BMP may go into a multi-format event, we may choose to take it the Sunburn way, or it might go to international markets. Even we are curious to see how BMP unfolds.