Big Music, T-Series & Hungama Mobile join hands to co-own & distribute Big Music’s catalogue & future content

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

December 10, 2009 - 12:00 AM IST

Reliance Big Entertainment entered into a strategic alliance with music company T-Series and Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. (Hungama Mobile) wherein all three companies will co-own the current and future music catalogue of Big Entertainment and the same shall be exclusively distributed by T-Series on all platforms in all formats including the current titles in the Big Music catalogue and all future titles in Reliance Big Entertainment including all physical formats, Radio & Television, Mobile and digital formats, across the globe. This development will also be instrumental in establishing a whole new trend of collaboration in the music industry, and will give a boost to the industry that is otherwise experiencing near-flat growth.

Commenting on this association, Amit Khanna, Chairman, Reliance Big Entertainment said, "The environment of the Indian music industry is opening to opportunities for dynamic distribution models. This is setting the stage for players, from different spheres, to collaborate and focus energies on reaching out to the end-consumer more effectively. We, at BIG Music, are delighted with this association and look forward to leveraging the fantastic network built by Hungama Mobile & T-Series to take our music to consumers all over the world."

Apart from being the largest record-label in the country, T-Series has one of the most extensive distribution networks across all entertainment verticals globally. Apart from steering sales on physical formats, T-Series will also champion the reach of BIG Music's catalogue through its network of licensees, publishers and aggregators and all formats of revenues that arise from radio, television & public performances.

On the mobile & digital distribution front, T-Series exclusively through Hungama Digital Media (Hungama Mobile) will be providing the digital footprint for Reliance Big Music's catalogue across telecom service providers, internet, IPTV and mobile networks. Their catalogue will be available for downloads on Hungama's digital distribution network comprising of all telecom carriers in India and across 37 other countries. This distribution will also cover internet portals which include Hungama.com, India's premium digital entertainment store and numerous other online and mobile networks globally. Through its international partnerships with iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon MP3, among others, Hungama will power Reliance Big Music's collections to South Asian consumer's outside the country.

Bhushan Kumar, Chairman & Managing Director, T-Series said, "Our association with Big Music will have great significance to the entire music industry. From physical distribution models to opportunities for radio & TV publishing and digital formats, this alliance gives us an opportunity to explore different domains of revenue generation and reach that will be mutually beneficial for all partners in this process."

Neeraj Roy, MD & CEO, Hungama Digital Media, added, "As consumers warm up to new formats of entertainment, especially in the digital domain, the right time for the Indian music industry to build an eco-system that will work towards satiating all forms of consumer touch points. We hope that this alliance will be a precedent and will set the momentum for more such initiatives in the Indian music industry."

BIG Music's catalogue consists of chart buster albums such as Cash, Johnny Gaddar, Rock On, Luck By Chance alongside artists such as Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and popular singers such as A. R. Rahman, Adnan Sami, Alka Yagnik and more. Apart from the existing range, all future music releases of Reliance Big Music (under Reliance Big Pictures) will be distributed through T-Series and Hungama Digital Media.

About BIG Music & Home Entertainment:
BIG Music and Home Entertainment has taken significant strides towards its objective of emerging as the dominant player in Indian Music & Home Entertainment. The company is the exclusive licensee to 3 of Hollywood's prestigious studios Universal Pictures International BV, Warner Home Video, Paramount Home Entertainment Global & Dream Works Animation SKG, Inc. With its robust pan India distribution network, the company will ensure reach for these Hollywood products, not only in urban market but also mass markets. BIG Home Video has launched iconic movies like Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Godfather Trilogy, Public Enemies, Gran Torino, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, State of Play, Moonwalker and Monsters Vs. Aliens, amongst others in Blu-ray, DVD and VCD formats. Our forthcoming releases include 2009's blockbusters such as The Hangover, G.I. Joe - Rise of Cobra, Inglourious Basterds and Watchmen. Visit us at https://bigmusic.co.in and https://bigvideo.co.in

About T-Series:
Established in 1984, T-Series, the market leaders in Indian music industry, hold leadership position not only in Hindi film music but in various genres like Devotional Music, Regional Music and Pop Music and non film music. T-Series holds Intellectual Property Rights over more than 38, 000 titles in more than 24 genres in 40 Hindi and regional languages and above 1lakh audio visual songs. T-Series also employs its own Anti piracy team that tackles the issue of rampant piracy in India in conjunction with the lawmakers of the country. T-Series exports its content to over 24 countries across six continents combined with India's largest distribution network of over 2500 dealers. T-Series has subsidiaries for many of its businesses as also offices across India.

About Hungama Digital Media:
Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. is the largest aggregator, developer, publisher and distributor of Bollywood and South-Asian entertainment content in the world. With partnerships with over 305 content creators, across record labels, studios, broadcasters Hungama has licensed worldwide exclusive digital rights to over 2 million music and video titles. Hungama serves content to consumers in 37 countries across mobile, internet, iptv services and has more than 145 partners across the world. Hungama has successfully managed more than 2000 mobile and digital campaigns for as many as 300 brands globally. The business has built its expertise in the following areas- Mobile Content, Mobile Marketing and Mobile Media. Through its own universal Short Code 54646, Hungama Mobile is accessible to over 2 Billion consumers across the world.
For more information, please visit www.hungama.org