MAM
IPRS to host a webinar on ‘Getting organized during Adversities’ in association with Music Plus
In the wake of current pandemic, many sectors and industries been adversely impacted resulting in widespread uncertainties. There are growing concerns over livelihood and people are looking for direction and support to survive the economic downturn. The importance of being represented as a community whichever be the sector is felt now more than ever. Rallying behind, the music creation fraternity, IPRS has been organizing a series of workshops and webinars to address various issues and offer solutions during the lockdown phase. As part of this sustained effort, The Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. (IPRS) will host a webinar titled ‘Getting Organized during Adversities’, in association with Music Plus on Wednesday, 27th May at 4pm. The session will be LIVE on Music Plus and IPRS social media handles.
In this session, some of the finest minds in the music creation space from India and abroad, will be discussing best practices and ways & means to have a sustainable and rewarding future.
The panelists of the session include luminaries from the music industry such as Mr. Horace Trubridge, General Secretary Musicians’ Union; Mr. Ratish Tagde, President Musicians Federation of India (MFI) and Mr. Vijay Benegal, Sound Engineer and the session will further be moderated by Mr. Atul Churamani, MD Turnkey Music & Representative of IPRS.
Commenting on the initiative Mr. Rakesh Nigam, CEO of the IPRS said, “With the boom in distribution and consumption of content, there had been a surge in music creation as well. However, the sudden halt, owing to the pandemic has resulted in a situation of great uncertainty for the entire music fraternity comprising of music creators, performers, technicians, and the labour force. Hence through the webinar, IPRS is bringing together the stakeholders from different sectors of the industry to highlight the impending crisis and recommend ways to streamline the work process, thus paving the way for a rewarding future for music and the community as a whole.”
Mr. Atul Churamani, Founder and MD of Turnkey Music & Publishing and Publisher Member of IPRS said, " We haven't had a crisis like this in our lifetimes and the financial havoc it will wreak is yet to be fully understood. However, there are already people and sections of the music industry that are in distress. Action needs to be taken now, to both tackle this crisis and anyone that may crop up in the future. This panel should throw forth a lot of ideas that can be acted on swiftly".
Mr. Horace Trubridge, General Secretary Musicians’ Union commented, “This terrible pandemic has hit the international music community particularly hard. Organizations like mine are working flat-out to provide musicians with the support advice and guidance that they need to see them through this crisis and musicians’ representatives all over the world need to work together as we plan for recovery”
Mr. Ratish Tagde, President Musicians Federation of India (MFI) said, "This global pandemic has caused financial insecurities across the world and various sectors. The Indian Music industry is no exception to that. We need to unite, fight this together, and explore opportunities."
Mr. Vijay Benegal, Sound Engineer mentioned, "Most people know of the many singers, lyricists and composers that are involved in the production of music. Not many are aware of the time and effort put in by sound engineers and technicians who work behind the scenes to create the magic. COVID19 has introduced severe uncertainties that our industry has never before experienced. Moving forward, it is essential for us to come together and create suitable platforms that voice our professional concerns and support each other.”
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
