MUMBAI: “Music is the universal language of mankind,” a phrase by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is quite implemented in the current music Industry scenario. One can observe how music in different languages has attracted people worldwide. Sony Music India Director Syndication and Licensing Dinraj Shetty spoke on these lines at the recently held FICCI Frames 2019. 

He spoke on how Latin music got popular on Billboard charts, while there is also K-Pop, which has a huge fan base currently. “In Latin America, most of the revenues are earned overseas and if you look at it, they have topped Billboard charts. It means in a simple way that they have visibility of their content overseas. Now, South Korea has moved K-pop into fashion and culture. Our content should have multiple touch points overseas and should have our Indian culture in a format, which is more acceptable to the world at large. Our content should be packaged in a way, which is more meaningful,” said Dinraj Shetty.

On being asked during the session if music is fundamentally different from other forms of content, he explained, “Music has only three to four minutes of engagement. If you look at the music Industry, we have a body that is actually helping Sony Music to reach that diaspora. If this content is packaged in a way, which is more meaningful, it will reach a wider audience.”

Furthermore, Shetty shared about the internet base in India and what is more penetrated. He said, “We have a four hundred billion internet base, which increased to about 600 mn internet bases due to 20/20 cricket match. The ecosystem is changing and there is convergence on the value chain for the Indian media and they will have to actually capitalize all the emerging technology and sustain their involvement in terms of strategies in going forward.”

He discussed on their population overseas and people who consume their content and revealed that there are 39 mn people out there in the Indian diaspora out of which there are nine million south Asians comprising Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan. “Our content is consumed by 40 mn people overseas,” he told.

He lastly spoke on international markets bringing in the K-Pop fan base and a lot more and ended saying that even India can do this.