Film producers rope in music labels as partners to cut the cost of acquiring retro songs

Instead of paying an upfront fee for the original song, the music label is brought on board as the official music partner for the film, gaining the rights to the entire soundtrack. While this strategy helps the producer to save on costs, the label benefits by bolstering its library with a new album instead of just getting a fee for one song.

“The partnership model offers a unique value proposition for both parties. It allows filmmakers to incorporate iconic songs into their projects while ensuring the label's ongoing involvement in the song's promotion and distribution, leading to increased exposure and potential revenue generation for both," said Kumar Taurani, managing director of TIPS Industries, a music record label and film production company. “The partnership approach ultimately creates a win-win scenario, where both the music label and the filmmaker benefit from the shared ownership and promotion of these classic songs."

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The company’s approach is to collaborate with film producers by offering its existing songs for recreation, Taurani said, a model that has worked well for projects such as Jawaani Jaaneman, Coolie No. 1 and Crew.

“In return, the producers give back the newly recreated versions, which we then promote," Taurani added. “For producers, it provides access to popular, established songs that can enhance their films' appeal without the substantial upfront costs typically associated with acquiring rights to hit songs."

Making business sense

Music labels typically pay ₹15 crore to ₹20 crore to acquire the rights to a film's soundtrack. Film soundtrack acquisition costs have spiked by five to eight times over the past year and a half for music labels such as T-Series, Sony Music and Saregama.

The label may also give the production house a discount on the licensing and publishing fees to acquire the rights of the movie, Hamza Kazi, music head at Dharma Cornerstone Agency, pointed out.

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“Obviously, this has to make business sense at both ends, while keeping the quality of the entire album in mind," Kazi said, adding that if a song has to be a part of an album, it has to make creative sense. “The idea is that the label will end up with all the streaming revenues once they have acquired the rights to a particular film. And if the film has big stars, they will go for promotional tours and radio trails to help blow up the album along with the movie. The label earns through the additional marketing push, and it becomes a synergy-driven partnership."

While these deals are signed based on the reputation of the production banner and the music composer, besides the lead cast, labels say they are at a serious disadvantage given the quality of Hindi film music lately that is not gaining traction. So such strategies can help the label add to its library at a slightly lower cost.

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“It’s a good deal for both parties. Labels who would give away songs earlier (for a fee) realised they were getting a raw deal, so it’s best to get the whole soundtrack for a fixed price," film producer Vinod Bhanushali said.