Competition has hit Telugu audio market hard: Umesh Gupta

Umesh Gupta, who owns numero music company Aditya Music in Telugu film industry, is a bit worried over growing competition in the audio market since the prices have gone up from mere Rs 2 crore to Rs 18 crore per film. Of course, they have big ticket movies like ‘Bholaa Shankar’ and ‘Guntur Kaaram’ on hand. He talks about his future plans with Deccan Chronicle.

Q: B-town audio labels like Sony, T Series and Saregama have entered Tollywood? Aren't you worried?

A: I have been facing competition from rival companies across India for many years and it is nothing new for me.  However, I am a bit concerned about rising rates for audio rights which have crossed 8 to 10 times ( I can't reveal the exact figures). Eventually, it is going to be difficult to recover such money. With cassettes and CDs going out of fashion, we have to recover through streaming and millions of views. We need loads of patience. 

Q: You lost out on ‘Pushpa 2’ after tasting success with ‘Pushpa’?

A: We would have missed a handful of films but our standing and reputation has kept us in good stead in Tollywood. Roughly, we had more than 20-odd movies this year including ‘Bholaa Shankar’ and ‘Guntur Kaaram’. Actually, Bollywood audio companies are rushing to the south, hoping that every film will be another ‘RRR or ‘KGF’ but it is not the case. Just recently, a few star films that rocked at the Telugu box office, bombed in Bollywood. Hence, it is just a myth that all Telugu films have pan-India appeal, barring a few movies.   

Q: Aditya Music channel is holding its top position and your 2500 odd movies have come in handy?

A: That’s true. Our music channel is most sought-after by music lovers and we have around 30 million subscribers and we are at the top. Adding to it, we have a humongous catalogue with more than 2500 movies and it is offering a lot of variety to new-age listeners. We are satisfying both old and new listeners since we have both star-studded movies as well as musical melodies.

Q: After giving up production, you are stepping into non-theatrical business?

A: We intended to expand our brand equity. We discontinued film production since we realized it was not our cup of tea. Nonetheless, we are procuring non-theatrical rights to movies like ‘Extraordinary Man’ and ‘Bhairavakona’ and exploring a new arena. Hope Telugu producers don't hike rates of non-theatrical rights too.