At a
time when the music industry majors have virtually abandoned Hindustani music,
Meera Music is fast acquiring stature as a specialist producer. Its Director, Ajay Ginde spoke to Deepak Raja and Dr. Shreyas Masrani on February 15, 2015.
Excerpts from the interview:
 |
| Ajay Ginde |
What is the origin of Meera Music?
I qualified as a Mechanical Engineer. From 1975 to 2009, I worked in the textile machinery industry managing production and exports, including a stint in Indonesia. The global recession came in 2008, and there was no work. I got bored with sitting in the office with nothing to do. So, I decided to do something more interesting with my life. Classical music was an automatic choice.
I qualified as a Mechanical Engineer. From 1975 to 2009, I worked in the textile machinery industry managing production and exports, including a stint in Indonesia. The global recession came in 2008, and there was no work. I got bored with sitting in the office with nothing to do. So, I decided to do something more interesting with my life. Classical music was an automatic choice.
My
father, Prof. KG Ginde’s had wished that his series of lecture-demonstrations on
Raga Vidya at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan should be published. So, I started with
publishing the initial episodes, along with some of his concert recordings
under the Meera Music label. Meera is my mother’s name. They sold well through my father’s friends and
admirers. Over the years, I published all the 38 lecture demonstrations in that
series, and they have remained in demand amongst serious music lovers and
institutions.
I was
also concerned that the music of the old masters should be brought back into
circulation, so that they are not forgotten. My father had been a disciple of
Annasaheb (SN) Ratanjankar. Through my father’s circle of friends, I acquired
the publishing rights for a couple of recordings of Annasaheb. They did well -- again through the same limited
network. In later years, of course, I could add several more titles of
Annasaheb to my offering, all of which have done well. The initial success encouraged me to enlarge
my portfolio and reach out to a larger market.
 |
 |
Obviously
your distribution strategy changed at this stage?
I could
not think of going through the retail channels because I did not have the
capital to block in inventories and receivables, nor the ability to accept the
credit risk. So, I had to turn part-producer,
wholesaler and retailer, all rolled into one. The market is small but
geographically scattered. I saw the opportunity in the music festivals that are
held in Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka during the music season (October to
March), which would give me focused access to potential buyers. So, I hire
stalls at all the music festivals in this region, and service the customers
myself. I could not afford to hire staff anyway. But, more than that,
interacting personally with music lovers gave me – and continues to give me –
priceless insights into their tastes and preferences, and changing needs as
listeners of Hindustani music.
 |
I
started servicing Indian retail stores and foreign wholesalers only in 2013. It
has given me larger geographical reach, helped me to enlarge by distribution
business for other recording companies, and built volumes. In addition to 124 titles
of my own production, I am distributing about 300 titles for other producers:
Sangeet Kendra, All India Radio, T Series, and a few Calcutta based companies
-- Bihan Music, Inreco, Megaphone, Quest Worlds and Gattani. But, I am still limiting the retail network
to ensure that my working capital requirements do not go out of control.
 |
My
principal retail associates are Rhythm House in Bombay. I enjoy an excellent
relationship with them, and they now account for a major part of my retail
sales. Their online sales operation
gives my products a wider geographical reach.
They have an efficient customer service infrastructure, which I do not
care to replicate or replace, even if doing so could mean higher profitability
for my firm.
But,
even today, in terms of net sales realizations, my direct sales to customers at
the music festivals would account for a major part of my business. This can
change over the next few years. But, I never plan to discontinue my direct
sales operations – they constitute my profit generators, my continuous market
research, and an unending joy.
How has your product policy evolved?
 |
 |
Gradually,
I also shifted my attention to the living performers of orthodox music, who
were groomed by the early 20th century masters – but still very much
the pre-independence generation. Amongst them, I could release recordings of Yashwant
Buwa Joshi, SCR Bhatt (solo, and also duets with my father) Chhota Gandharva, Dinkar
Kaikini, Kaushalya Manjeshwar,
Sangameshwar Gurav, and Jayshree Patnekar.
By this time, I started receiving offers from credible musicians of the 40-50 age
group, who were looking for greater visibility. Amongst them, I released Milind
Raikar (Violin), Basavi Mukherjee, Ram Deshpande, Raja Miya, and Kaivalya Kumar Gurav.
These musicians have credible pedigree. But, even musicians without respectable
backgrounds are interesting for me.
For
instance, I was in Ratnagiri once for a music festival. There, I heard an
excellent vocalist, Rajabhau Shembhekar, an entirely self-taught musician.
Enquiries revealed that he was a State Transport bus driver who drove only
night-journey services between Bombay and Chiplun. In day time, he slept and
practiced music. I persuaded him to record for me, and his recordings were
immensely successful, and continue to sell even today. He was even invited to
perform in Bombay and gave an impressive 3-hour performance at Karnataka
Sangha! Even after gaining recognition
as a musician, Rajabhau continues to drive his night service ST bus between
Bombay and Chiplun, and is a contented man.
What is
your current thinking on your portfolio?
I will
remain interested in the old masters and orthodox musicians who are either
living or have just departed. But, there is a risk attached to the
concentration of old music in my portfolio. An entirely new generation of
listeners has now emerged in the market, and I find that there is a growing
demand for fresh talent. The old masters are still selling, but their
proportion in sales is declining. This
may also be because of the small presence of instrumental music in my
portfolio.
Therefore,
I am now actively interested in contemporary musicians in the 40-50 age group,
and promising musicians in the 30-40 age group. In fact, I have recently
released two CDs of Meghana Kulkarni of Bangalore, who is in her mid-30s; and
they are selling very well.
Instrumental
music now constitutes a big chunk of the recorded music market. I need to look
at this angle also. In the vocal segment, we have produced only Dhrupad and
Khayal music. We should now consider the
Thumree group of genres, raga-based Natya Sangeet in Marathi, raga-based
Ghazals, other “Sufi” genres, and even tastefully rendered raga-based fusion.
People have
been asking me why I have not entered the video (DVD) market with Hindustani
music. The problem with the video medium is the format. Unlike the audio CD
which can be played on any equipment, the DVD format is not standardized
globally. So, we cannot address the global market with a single product.
Moreover, the video medium demands undivided attention from audiences. Those
who can, and want to, give Hindustani music undivided attention, are very few
in number. So, the size of this market may be too small to be interesting. Yes, indeed, there is a TV channel devoted to
classical music. It may have a sizable listenership. But I don’t know if it
has a sizable viewership.
Do you sense
any threats to the audio CD market itself?
Right
from the days of the audio-cassette, unauthorized copying has been a threat.
And, I am sure that the total number of my CDs in people’s homes far exceeds my
unit sales. But, the classical music market is too small to attract the
hard-core piracy operators. So, the loss
of sales to the producer is acceptable so far.
The
audio CD format may go out in a few years, and some other storage media might
replace it. The pen drive is doing so partially already. But, people will
continue to need a tangible and portable medium for music because increasingly,
listening to music is happening in cars and other modes of transport.
Some
people see the YouTube as a possible threat. But, YouTube is a video medium and
demands undivided attention. Yes, YouTube audio downloads in MP3 formats are
possible. But, this is a lot of effort. And, MP3 sound does not match Audio CD
quality. Fortunately, very little of the music I offer is available on YouTube.
I do
not see either our unit sales or growth rates weakening for the next five
years. Ultimately, of course, the trends in storage media and audio technology
will affect us, and we will adapt ourselves to these changes.
How do
you view the business today?
Basically,
what I am running is not a business. It is a hobby which keeps me comfortable,
while giving me a lot of joy. I get
immense pleasure from dealing with musicians, unearthing talent, editing and
processing concert and archival recordings, and interacting personally with my
customers. I do not want this enterprise
to grow to a scale where I have to hire people to do any of these things. Nor
do I want to grow it to a scale where somebody will buy it out for a handsome
amount. It will live and die with me. This
may be the main reason for my success – if you wish to call it that.
We
found a foothold in the market when the music industry was going through a
substantial consolidation. In this frenzy for building up scale, Hindustani
music, which could be less than 1% of the recorded music market, totally
vanished from the radar screen of the organized sector. Some of the old labels
still have valuable assets, which they repackage and recycle sporadically under
different titles. None of the industry Big Boys has an active portfolio
development program for Hindustani music. This is understandable because this
segment requires specialized handling. The overheads required to exploit this
small and scattered market would make this segment unattractive to music
companies.
This
environment was ideal for specialist producers to emerge from within the
classical music community, and run reasonably profitable enterprises. We have
survived and grown at a steady pace for several reasons -- I can acquire music
on attractive terms. I am able to offer my customers a wide product portfolio.
I can respond to their changing preferences through constant personal
interaction. I operate a frugal
establishment in terms of production costs without sacrificing product quality.
And, my pricing policy is moderate.
As I
move from orthodox music to more contemporary music, none of this is likely to
change. Meera Music is not going to transform itself into a “Business” as the
term is commonly understood -- because it has a lot to do with the fact that I
am the son of Prof. KG Ginde.
©
Deepak Raja and Dr. Shreyas Masrani 2015
