Page 42 - Forbes India (December 2015)

EntErprisE livE EvEnts and music fEsts

and the essential appeal of EDM.
Globally, few other events
exemplify this appeal better than
Tomorrowland, the gigantic electronic
music festival that is held in Belgium
every year. Last year, to celebrate
its 10th anniversary, the festival
reportedly sold 360,000 tickets in
under an hour. The FICCI-KPMG
Indian Media and Entertainment
Industry Report for 2015 drew a
comparison between Tomorrowland
and Sunburn, estimating Sunburn’s
2014 ticket sales to be 140,000. The
comparison drew a sharp contrast
between the revenues of the two
festivals. The report estimated
Tomorrowland’s revenues to be 104.5
million euros (About Rs 748 crore).
vijay nair, CeO, Only Much louder, which runs the nh7 Weekender
against Sunburn’s Rs 12.2 crore.
festivals’ popular in India was based a shopping area. Importantly, says Low ticket prices are the primary
almost completely on one, hugely Singh, the quality of the experience reason for this large gap in revenue
popular musical genre. Sunburn, had to be at par with the best in the numbers. Consider that in order
arguably the first music festival of world. “By this time people had access to clock Rs 748 crore in revenues,
its scale to be held in India, was to international content, and they Sunburn would have to sell around
built under the broad umbrella of knew what music festivals abroad 8.5 million tickets at the same prices.
electronic dance music (EDM). are like. You couldn’t cheat them.” This also means that hypothetically,
Sunburn was conceptualised This was also one of the reasons why the festival would need to grow at
by Shailendra Singh along with it took Sunburn five years to break about 50 percent annually for the next
six employees of his media and even, he says. In 2007, when the first ten years to achieve these numbers.
entertainment company, Percept, Sunburn festival finally got underway, This is not to suggest that ticket
and a consultant. Among these seven, it managed to pull in a reported 10,000 prices have necessarily obstructed
at least two now hold important people on the New Year weekend. growth: In fact, the EEMA/Ernst &
positions in the rapidly growing IP Like many people his age, Bakshi, Young white paper suggests that the
economy: Nikhil Chinapa (former then a student at the USC Thornton organised events economy in India
VJ and currently the festival curator School of Music at the University of has grown from Rs 2,800 crore in
for Vh1 Supersonic) and Devraj Southern California in Los Angeles, 2011-12 to Rs 4,258 crore in 2014-15.
Sanyal (MD and CEO at Universal California, found himself at Sunburn CA Media, a private equity firm
Music Group, South Asia). in 2008. “Till that time, I was quite that has picked up a 49 percent stake
“Even back in 2005, it was clear intent on remaining in the States, in OML is bullish about the sector’s
to us that the demographic changes but just seeing Indian kids like me growth. “We look at markets driven
in India meant that we were going performing on stage was a really by the youth. We invest in IP-based
to have a huge population of young revolutionary experience for me,” he properties in this space and the
people with nothing by way of says. The fact that he could identify live space is the biggest example
entertainment except Bollywood with the people on stage compelled of the tremendous growth that the
and cricket,” says Singh. It took five him to return to India, says Bakshi. market is seeing,” says Vivek Raicha,
months for him and his team to set This relatable quality, many say, is head of investments, CA Media.
up the event. The festival had to be what makes EDM such a universally
“50 percent music and 50 percent attractive model to base an IP the new, olD players
lifestyle”, he says. This meant that property on. “It has no lyrics, so no This upswing saw the entry of a large
one feels conscious about not knowing
amit vErma beside the stages that would host enough about the music,” points out in 2013. Although Viacom18 (part
media conglomerate into this space
the visiting artistes, Sunburn would
Singh. Sunburn, he believes, tapped
include activities ranging from
of Network 18, publishers of Forbes
volleyball to bungee jumping and even
into the demand for live entertainment
India) had dabbled in the business of
42 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015