T-Series has in its library three of 2007's mega blockbusters - Om Shanti Om, Taare Zameen Par and Jab We Met. The label has also been actively acquiring music from various smaller labels. Vinod Bhanushali, President - Marketing Media Publishing (TV), has been with T-Series for over 15 years now and has seen the company grow from strength to strenght. In a frank and open-ended interview with radioandmusic.com's Aaishwari Chouhan, Bhanushali speaks about issues facing the music industry.

Excerpts:

T-Series will be remaking Karzz with Himesh Reshammiya. What are your marketing plans for Karzz and its music?

Karzz has mind blowing music. It has good sound and great lyrics. So, we are basically planning to market its music in a big way by projecting it as the sound of the present day. Basically, Karzz will be marketed as a musical blockbuster.

T-Series launched its online store last year. How is it faring?

Today, there is still a problem with the payment gateways. People in India prefer physically walking down to the music store, listening to some sample music and then purchasing what they like. They are quite hesitant about purchasing music online. I believe that when the rock bands arrive on the scene in a big way, we will see a lot more people logging on to the Internet to listen to and buy music, which is when our web store will do exceptionally well.

Are there any plans currently to revamp or redesign the site?

The website has come out in a good way. We aim to change its look slightly every two or three months. But the aim is to get people to use it and buy online, which will still take some time in India.

You have had the biggest titles of last year in your kitty - Taare Zameen Par, Om Shanti Om, Jab We Met. Which was the biggest success for T-Series in 2007?

Of all the titles, T-series released last year, Om Shanti Om and Taare Zameen Par have been the biggest successes for us. But since we still continue to generate revenues from these titles, I cannot comment on the returns.

What are T-Series' plans for 2008?

We have many movies coming up in the near future. After Krazzy 4 we will soon have Bhootnath. We are also doing one film with Subhash Ghai and then around three to four films with Percept Films. So, we have enough titles right now to keep us busy through the year.

T-Series has acquired the audio rights to the remake of Ghajini. What's happening on that front?

We have the audio rights to Ghajini. It feels really good and proud to be associated with Aamir Khan for yet another movie after Taare Zameen Par.

Is T-Series' focus more on Bollywood or on artiste albums this year?

Well, we have everything! Right from devotional to regional albums and Bollywood, of course! We recently acquired Jay Sound which has around 900 titles in Gujarati. And then, we are also concentrating on Punjabi titles. The first thing that we concentrate on is the catalogue and then, formatting follows!

How does T-series combat the menace of piracy?

Piracy not only hurts us, but the whole industry and the government too. There is simply no count as to how much does piracy costs a label. It is because we don't know how many pirates are going about making money from our titles. But people who purchase pirated stuff should understand that pirated CDs have neither proper quality nor sound and the CDs might actually damage your system.

As an industry and a company, we issue public interest advertisements to combat piracy. Our celebrities often go out in the public and speak against piracy. Raids are conducted and media is also spreading the word. This is all we can really do!

Sony BMG acquired the audio rights to Jannat after T-Series could not reach a settlement with Vishesh films. And now, T-Series has got rights to a different Vishesh film. So, how is the relationship with Vishesh films now?

Our relationship is really good with Vishesh films. In fact, Pooja Bhatt is directing a movie for T-Series.

Music labels today are responsible for the success of an artiste they sign. What are the different ways of promoting an artiste?

Branding is one of the best ways to promote an artist. Apart from that, posters, appearing on chat/reality based shows, live performances, videos - all of these work in favour of promoting the artiste. However, if the music of the album is good, the artiste has a good voice and if we believe in the artiste; there is nothing better than that for self-promotion. Look at Himesh Reshammiya - right from Aashiq Banaya Aapne, he has climbed the success ladder. His success ratio is 88-90 per cent, which is exceptionally brilliant.

How do promotion techniques differ with respect to film and non-film music albums?

When it comes to film music, we ride on the popularity and fame of the film stars. For non-film music albums, we simply rely on good music and songs! The video of non-film albums needs to be attractive as against film music, which when it features a Shah Rukh Khan, assures success.