Tell us a bit about yourself. Why and how did you come to be a part of Planet M?
I have always been in the music business. I started off from SAREGAMA. During my professional career I have been associated with CBS which is now Sony Music, Milestone, Times Music, Magnasound, etc.
During the course of my stint with all these companies I learnt that, from a label's perspective, it’s only a one dimensional view of the business that one has. The last mile connect or the conduit between the label and the customer gives you an all round view of the business, simply because your not managing one label but looking at managing multi labels, multi repertoire at multi locations. The matrix of a Retail Outlet like Planet M is fairly complicated but it encompasses all the parameters of the industry. Managing this matrix was a challenge that excited me and that’s how I joined Planet M in January 2008.
Can you broadly outline the structure of the Planet M Music Department?
Broadly we are structured as Category Managers and Operations. The Operations looks after everything that has to do with the stores.
There are verticals in various product lines that Planet M houses. Music and Movies is one of them. In addition we have Mobile Phones, Hardware, Gaming, Leisure & Lifestyle, etc. Each of these verticals is headed by a separate Category head and I am the Category head for Music & Movies.
How many outlets do you have all across India?
We have 270 outlets all across India.
Is there a maximum concentration of these outlets in a specific geographical region in India?
We are present in more than 40 cities in India so there is nothing like a maximum concentration in a particular geographical region.
Which of these outlets are more focused on music or rather which of these do well in context to Music Sales?
In terms of music sales it is a little difficult to plot the geographical consumption pattern, since people all over India listen to music. The delivery platforms could be different but the affinity to listen to music is uniform everywhere. For example - Mumbai maybe far ahead of others in terms of volumes / values but the growth rate of other regions may be higher due to higgher proliferation.
If I was to ask you the consumption pattern of International, Bollywood and Non Film Music how would you plot it geographically across India?
International Music would be consumed in a handful of cities other than the Metros. Bollywood appeals everywhere. Non Film Music or the basic music would be popular in certain pockets which is obviously more than the International. Let me give you an example – If International is selling in Indore then, that doesn’t mean that POP or Ghazals will not sell in Indore. In fact POP and Ghazals would sell more in Indore vis-à-vis International.
What is the percentage of Film Music in context to the overall Music Sales?
Within the category of Hindi music (Bhajans, Ghazals, Sufi, New Acts, POP, etc) Bollywood would constitute the largest pie. Including the compilations Film Music would attribute to 80% of the sales within the category of Hindi Music.
This is the standardized trend for everyone in the trade.
What about International Music?
International Music is associated with certain kind of stores. Planet M is one of the brands that people associate with when it comes to buying International Music. International Music would constitute approximately 35 to 38% of our total music sales.
In context to Planet M Sales figures which company is the clear leader with respect to International Music and Bollywood Music?
Between 3 companies they represent 98% of the International Music. Virgin represents Virgin, EMI and Warner. Sony represents Sony Music and BMG. Universal again represents its own set of labels.
In case of Bollywood Music it will be TSeries, Eros, Yashraj, Sony, etc not in that order though.
What do you see as the major reason for rampant piracy and declining physical sales?
Firstly, according to me, one cannot single out one particular reason for rampant piracy. If it had been so easy the industry would have addressed the situation long back. Planet M is one entity which has been trying to push the sales of physical as much as possible. Our belief in the business has led to our increase in the number of our outlets.
Do you think a pricing correction of the products will boost the sales?
I don’t thing PRICING can be the general blanket term one should use. It is about the right product at the right price. The sales of certain companies which have gone up because of reduction in pricing is a very short term thing. Because once the consumers get used to the pricing, they get into the pick and choose mode. Price reduction may not necessarily end up boosting sales for the long term.
What is the standard dealer margins offered to you? Are these justified?
I am sorry I cannot comment on that.
Let me re phrase my question. I have statements from Sales heads of music companies who have said that 20 to 25% is the standard dealer margin. Is this margin justified?
No. It’s not.
Do the dealer margins vary from one music company to another music company?
Yes, It does.
Most music companies allege that despite offering good dealer margins and spending heavily on in store promotions you are not focused on selling music. Rather music has taken a back seat and other products like mobiles, accessories, etc are your core focus. Your comment.
At a store level it is not possible to stay focused on so many titles music companies come out with. We are in the industry of making the product bigger. I do not believe that we have shifted focus from selling music. At Planet M, we all believe in the mantra - 'Planet M is the place for people who are young or are young at heart!! All our offerings revolve around this mantra. Also today we can’t deny the fact that most of the music gets consumed on the radio and the handsets.
Do you believe that radio channels have affected music sales at Planet M?
It definitely affects. But there are ways to work around it. For example if you see a rare collection in our stores it will definitely attract you to at least touch it. Now if that product is rightly priced by the music companies, I am sure the customer would get into the mode of a buying decision. Nevertheless, I agree to the fact that music consumption in so many ways, is reducing the shelf life of the products put out by these music companies.
Most music companies complain of your exorbitant window promotions rates. Most even allege that you focus more on these window ad sales than the sale of the actual content. Your comment.
I would recommend that you visit any of our outlets and see our windows. Normally all our windows are kept clean until and unless we are associating ourselves with an event. A retailer everywhere in the world would want to maximize on the yield per square feet. The cost of rentals, employment, operations etc have all gone up in the past couple of years. Like the music companies would like to maximize out of their product, I would like to maximize out of my area.
Despite the fact that the number of outlets opened by you in the last few years has considerably gone up the order books of the music companies do not show proportionate rise in the volume of stocks picked up by you. Why so?
I do not agree to that. There was a time when the music companies used to launch with 8 Lakh units. Today they launch with 1 Lakh units. The markets have changed and the market size outside the organized retail chain has shrunk. It is the general market scenario. Also today the music companies’ focus has also changed because they want to explore every other medium and not just physical. They are trying to maximize on the digital front in cases where they lose out on the physical format.
Also please understand that, I am not responsible for the sales of a music product in that sense. It’s their product and the music companies need to have good marketing strategies to create the requisite pull for the product they launch. If a movie is a big HIT they take the CREDIT for that. So if a movie fails why can’t they take the DEBIT as well?
What is ‘STOCK DUMPING’? Do these music companies burden you with excessive launch stocks?
STOCK DUMPING very much exists. We are all human beings at every level of the distribution. People can go wrong in their estimations of launch volumes. So these things keep happening. Like every one out there in the trade, sometimes Planet M also gets burdened with excessive stocks. While the music companies cannot be entirely blamed for this but for a large part YES they have to take the blame.
Do the music companies contribute in any form towards liquidating your surplus stocks?
Yes they do in some forms.
Do the music companies allow you a 100% return ratio of the stocks that you pick up?
Not necessarily for all the merchandise. But for some products, Yes, they do. If there are products that haven’t sold a single piece in the last couple of months then we take up the issue with the respective label.
What happens when this particular label then brings out another product? Does the previous experience affect a future purchase decision?
We go by the product. We don’t let our individual experience come in between. It has to make business sense.
What are the parameters that affect your purchase decision in case of a particular Film Product?
We have experienced people here who understand the back catalog, know the artist, have historical data; hear the sound bytes, look at the promotions, etc. All of this put together helps us come to a conclusion on the volumes we have to pick up for a certain product.
Is it a person like you who makes that decision of the volumes that will be picked up?
I do get involved in the quantity mechanism but we have a team which handles the back end who listen to the music and come to conclusions based on the above mentioned parameters. For example I can’t listen to Tamil music and come up with the volumes we need to pick up because I don’t understand the language nor would I be a keen listener of Tamil music.
With Digital Sales fast overtaking Physical Sales, do you envision a day when you won’t be selling music in the physical form but will move onto a digital platform?
Firstly let me tell you, I do not know what the future beholds for me. I do not know how soon or how long its’ going to take for Digital Sales to completely overtake physical sales. As of now we are closely monitoring the situation and at the same time we are not holding back on any of our strategies for Physical Sales.
International Markets are abuzz with news that Music would soon be FREE and will be a bundled product with most devices. Your comment.
The answer to that question is a YES and a NO. YES, these things will be metro centric phenomena. And NO, as a national phenomenon all these things are still going to take a little while.
Last question:-
And I must ask you this – What was Planet M’s last year’s Sales Turnover?
Sorry I can’t comment on that.
