Overview
Saregama India Limited is one of India's oldest music labels and entertainment content companies. Headquartered in Kolkata, it is part of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group. The company, originally established as the Indian arm of The Gramophone Company, holds an extensive archive of recorded Indian music spanning more than a century, covering film soundtracks, classical music, devotional content, and regional repertoires.
Key facts
| Name | Saregama India Limited |
|---|---|
| Former names | The Gramophone Company of India Limited; HMV India |
| Industry | Music, entertainment, consumer electronics |
| Headquarters | Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Parent | RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group |
| Notable product | Carvaan (digital audio player) |
| Listing | BSE, NSE |
Background
The company traces its origins to the early twentieth century, when The Gramophone Company began recording and pressing discs in India. Its Dum Dum facility near Kolkata became one of the earliest record-pressing plants in Asia. Through much of the twentieth century the label operated under the His Master's Voice (HMV) brand, building a catalogue that includes recordings by leading playback singers, classical musicians, and ghazal artists.
The business was rebranded as Saregama in 2000, taking its name from the first four notes of the Indian solfège (sa, re, ga, ma). The new name positioned the company as an Indian-rooted entertainment brand while it continued to manage its legacy HMV catalogue.
Timeline
- Early 1900s: The Gramophone Company commences recording activity in India.
- Mid 20th century: Operates as the dominant Indian record label under the HMV brand, with the Dum Dum pressing plant as its production hub.
- 1985–1986: The Gramophone Company of India comes under the ownership of the RPG Group.
- 2000: Rebranded as Saregama India Limited.
- 2017: Launch of Carvaan, a portable digital audio player preloaded with classic Hindi film songs, which becomes a significant commercial success.
- Subsequent years: Expansion into film and web series production through Yoodlee Films, regional-language Carvaan variants, and licensing of music for streaming platforms.
Business activities
Music licensing and publishing
Saregama monetises its catalogue through licensing to digital streaming services, television, films, advertising, and public performance. Its archive includes Hindi film music as well as Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, and other regional repertoires, alongside Hindustani and Carnatic classical recordings.
Carvaan
Carvaan is a Bluetooth-enabled portable music player marketed primarily to older listeners, preloaded with curated songs from the company's catalogue. Variants have been released for regional languages, devotional content, and children's content.
Films and digital content
Through its Yoodlee Films division, Saregama produces feature films and web series. The company also produces and acquires new music for film soundtracks and independent releases.
Significance
As the successor to The Gramophone Company of India, Saregama controls one of the largest recorded-music archives in South Asia, making it an important custodian of twentieth-century Indian musical heritage. Its catalogue is widely used in remasters, compilations, and licensed reproductions of vintage Indian film and classical music.
Related topics
References
- Wikidata entity: Q122575
- Saregama India Limited – corporate disclosures filed with BSE and NSE.