Sony Music, Navras Records In Pact

Sony Music has entered into an agreement with Navras Records for the manufacture, marketing and distribution of the latter's traditional and classical music catalogue in India, comprising over a 100 titles.

Until now, Navras products were distributed in India through record company BMG-Crescendo. This arrangement expires in October.

About the switch from BMG to Sony, Satish Vyas, reputed santoor player and consultant to Navras said, "BMG has done its job very well but they were only distributing our products. Sony will be handling marketing as well."

For Sony Music, this is the second such arrangement, the first being with Rajshri Music for their album `Yeh Hai Prem'. The only difference is that Rajshri is involved in the marketing of the product also, unlike Navras which has handed over both marketing and distribution to Sony Music.

 

Sony has indicated that it is open to more such arrangements. "We have been approached by other parties but its too early to confirm anything," said Vijay Singh, managing director, Sony Music.

This is the first time that Sony Music is venturing into the field of marketing Indian classical music. However, it is confident of carrying it off. "We are used to marketing different genres of music even for niche audiences," said Singh. Sony aims at expanding the market for classical music by attracting younger audiences. "We are aware that the their attention span is decreasing but we think we can make it work with appropriate products and repackaging among other things," Singh added.

Navras Records is a London-based record label which operates in India through its associate company Navras Records (Pvt) Ltd. Most of its catalogue consists of live recordings of Indian classical music performers.

Part of its repertoire are concerts by renowned performers such as Shiv Kumar Sharma, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ashwini Bhide, and Prabha Atre.

"In business everybody looks for growth. Our association with Sony will help us achieve the desired market awareness and high penetration levels," said Satish Vyas, noted Santoor player and consultant to Navras Records.

The arrangement will also give Sony the opportunity to increase compact disc penetration which will be much higher than in the case of other mass-oriented genres such as film music.