Hindi
Devotional Music: Another money making segment in the Indian music business
The Indian music scenario keeps changing all the time. Where Bollywood ruled the roost earlier, gradually indi-pop grounded itself and with its buoyant marketing attracted the listeners. The remix trend closely followed making way for lounge and fusion music. Even with such changes dominating the Indian music market, the devotional/religious genre of music has maintained its stability for more than a decade now.
Times Music AVP – A&R Rajeeta Hemwani says, “To fight stress, everyone turns to God and that is working out well for us. Starting off with chanting of Gayatri mantra 108 times in a single CD, around a decade ago, Times Music broke the barriers of conventional Bhajans which was the only visible religious music on stands. Times Music managed to sell more than a million copies then; after which the demand for religious music, away from Bhajans and kirtans, started showing up.”
Statistical Count:
According to IMI’s Savio D’Souza, “Most of the national label target the 40 major cities of India. There are innumerable minor and independent labels that people aren’t aware of. Many of them even produce albums in regional languages. For the major labels, shlokas and mantras sell the most since they cater to the upper middle class of the population. The other labels, who target the lower strata of society, know that bhajans and kirtans on the cassettes sell the most.”
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IMI gets just 5 per cent in revenue and 15 per cent in volume from religious music. Of the total Rs 4 – 5 billion music business in India, religious music accounts to Rs 250 million only and makes up for 10-15 per cent of the market share presently.
Adds Hemwani, “For Times music, 40-50 per cent of the revenue is generated from religious music. For the past seven to eight years, the demand for devotional music is escalating. Today, it’s more about mantras; like the mantras for peace, for the well being of a new born, for pregnant ladies, for rejuvenation, relaxation and its likes.”
Today, people demand spiritual over devotional under the religious genre. Sales by genre statistics show that where film music accounts for 70 per cent, religious music has only 4 per cent sales. Distribution of music by genre reveals new film music contributes to 40 per cent followed by old film music, which accounts for 21 per cent and then comes devotional music, accounting to around 10 per cent of the total distribution.
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D’Souza further adds, “As far as value is concerned, today religious music contributes to Rs 250 million. This can by no means become Rs 5 billion.”
For smaller labels like Sagarika Music Pvt. Ltd. things are very different.
Adds Sagarika Music director Sagarika Bam, “Religious music falls in two categories, devotional and spiritual. We usually are linked with the niche segment. 20 per cent of our revenue is generated from religious music. With our Bengali and Marathi albums, we account for around 8 per cent of the market in India.”
The Scope for Independent labels:
With around 10,000 publishers and approximately 40,000 new titles every year, the domestic market is indeed a large market. Now when many temples and other independent labels are coming up with their own religious music records; a confident, Music Today assistant marketing manager Roli Chaturvedi adds, “These independent labels don’t look threatening as we have been in the market for a long time now and the audience can relate to us better than other labels that are creeping up.”
Hemwani also comments, “I know, many of these temples and
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small time labels are invading this segment, but one can’t deny the presence of a brand. Cost conscious people would rather purchase music from non-established labels, but people looking out for quality don’t compromise. In fact, when Siddhivinayak came up with their aarti and Shlokas, Times Music marketed it for them.” New devotional releases have to reach the target audience well on time. Hence, not many minor labels with a limited reach are able to sustain their leadership and generate profits.
Diversity of the Genre:
About the variety this segment offers, Chaturvedi says, “There are a couple of common mantras that sell the most like the Gayatri mantra and Hanuman Chalisa. But there are so many unexplored mantras that we, as a music label, are trying to come up with. They are exceptional and unconventional shlokas. Majority of people follow the common shlokas, but there are many as well who demand these unconventional shlokas which not many labels are aware of. We are working on offering more and more variety in the exceptional category.”
Piracy Problems:
Pirates has not spared even this genre of music. But, there exists a differential pricing policy here. While the target audience for film music is bulky, there is a comparatively low demand for devotional music. Hence, these albums are retailed at higher prices by national labels. Also, the demand for devotional music tends to be more or less festival-oriented. This has a strong bearing on pricing policies. Shares Gupta, “Due to piracy, the recovery cost becomes problematic. For Universal, not more than 10-15 percent of revenue is obtained from religious music after cutting down the money lost due to piracy.”
Bidding the Money:
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To prove the kind of money this segment is generating, Hemwani adds, “The music industry is creating awareness about such beautiful music present on the stands, so we know that the market share for religious music will either remain stable or increase further. It can by no means decline. In fact, today this is such a prolific segment to make money that Yash Raj Music, which was earlier just ‘Bollywood’, is now doing an album on Sai Baba.” Sagarika Music follows a different pricing strategy altogether as compared to national labels. For them, working on Marathi and other regional language albums is of more importance, as the lower strata of society demands more music in such languages.
Hindi
GUEST COLUMN: Why film libraries & IPs are the new engines of growth
Unlocking value through catalogue strength and IP synergy
MUMBAI:In a media landscape defined by fragmentation, platform proliferation, and ever-evolving audience behavior, the economics of filmmaking are undergoing a fundamental shift. No longer confined to box office performance, a film’s true value is now measured across an extended lifecycle that spans digital platforms, syndication networks, and global markets. As content consumption becomes increasingly non-linear and algorithm-driven, film libraries and intellectual properties (IPs) are emerging as strategic assets, capable of delivering sustained, long-term returns. For Mohan Gopinath, head – bollywood business at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., this transformation signals a decisive move from hit-driven models to portfolio-led value creation. In this piece, Gopinath explores how legacy content, when intelligently repurposed and distributed, can unlock recurring revenue streams, why the interplay between catalogue and original IP is critical, and how media companies can build resilient, future-ready entertainment businesses.
For all these years, we thought that a film is successful if it performs well in theatres. There are opening weekend numbers, box office milestones, and distribution footprints that gave a good picture of how the movie has done commercially and also tell us about its cultural impact. However, there are multiple platforms today, always-on content ecosystem, which has caused a shift. Today, the theatrical performance is not the culmination of a film’s journey but merely the beginning of a much longer and more dynamic lifecycle.
Film libraries today are emerging as high-value, constantly evolving assets that deliver sustained returns well beyond initial release cycles. This becomes a point of great advantage for legacy content owners with diverse catalogues, to shape long-term business outcomes.
According to FICCI-EY, the media and entertainment industry of India achieved a valuation of Rs 2.78 trillion in 2025 which is expected to reach Rs 3.3 trillion by 2028 through a compound annual growth rate of approximately 7 per cent and digital media will bring in more than Rs 1 trillion to become the biggest sector which generates about 36 per cent of overall market revenues.
This shift is the expansion of distribution endpoints. We know how satellite television was once the primary secondary window but today, it coexists with YouTube, OTT platforms, Connected TV, and FAST channels. Each of these platforms caters to distinct audience demographics and consumption behaviors, helping content owners to obtain more value from the same asset across multiple formats.
For instance, films that had great reruns, now find continuous engagement across digital platforms. On YouTube, classic Hindi cinema continues to attract significant viewership, reaching audiences across generations and geographies with remarkable consistency. At Shemaroo Entertainment, this is reflected in our film library shaped over decades as part of a long association with Indian entertainment. From classics such as Amar Akbar Anthony to much-loved entertainers like Jab We Met, Welcome, Dhamaal, Phir Hera Pheri, Dhol, Golmaal, and Bhagam Bhag, many of these titles continue finding new audiences while retaining their place in popular memory. Their enduring appeal reflects how culturally resonant stories can continue creating value over time. Similarly, FAST channels have created curated, always-on environments where catalogue content can continue to thrive through star-led and genre-based programming.
This multi-platform approach has very well transformed films into long-tail IP assets which are capable of generating recurring revenue across advertising, subscription, and syndication models.
The evolution of audience behavior is equally important. Nowadays, it’s more important to find what’s more relative than what’s recent as viewers are more influenced by mood, memories, and algorithmic suggestions than by release schedules. Even if a movie was released decades ago, it can trend alongside a newly released movie, if surfaced in the right context. Thoughtful packaging, whether through festival-based playlists, actor-driven collections, or genre clusters, allows catalogue content to remain dynamic and continuously discoverable. Shemaroo Entertainment has built extensive film libraries over decades and its focus has mostly been on recontextualizing content for the consumption of newer environments. This process doesn’t just include digitization and restoration, but also re-packaging of films as per platforms.
Syndication itself has evolved into a key growth driver. In perspective, when looking at the domestic market, curated content packages continue to find strong demand across broadcast and digital platforms. Meanwhile, in the international market, especially in markets like Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia, the appetite for Indian content is opening up new monetization avenues. Here, the ability to package and position catalogue content effectively becomes as important as the content itself.
Importantly, the need to re-package catalogue content does not diminish the role of new content. In fact, originals and fresh IP are essential to sustaining the long-term value of a film library because they act as discovery engines that bring audiences into the ecosystem, while catalogue content drives depth, retention, and repeat engagement.
This interplay between the “new” and the “known” is what defines a robust content strategy today. While new films generate spikes in consumption, catalogue titles offer familiarity and comfort. These are factors that are increasingly valuable in an era of content abundance and decision fatigue. This is also shaping our strategy, drawing value from both a deep catalogue assets and a growing focus on original IPs to strengthen long-term audience engagement and build more predictable revenue streams.
There is growing recognition that long-term value in entertainment will be shaped not only by how intelligently existing content continues to live, travel and find relevance, but also by how consistently new stories are created to renew that ecosystem. In that sense, film libraries and original IP are not parallel bets, but reinforcing engines of growth. For media companies, the opportunity lies in making these two forces work together, because that is increasingly where more resilient and predictable businesses are being shaped.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
