Grasping a foothold in the Indian music scene, live event company Mooz Entertainment is all set to define high standards in the live music space with a dedicated calendar of events.

With the increasing fervour of international artistes to perform for Indian audience, the company has organized three-city tour of renowned American alternative metal band and two times Grammy award winner ‘Korn’ who will perform this September for the first time in India.

Aiming to bring world class live entertainment in India and transform India into live music capital of Asia, Mooz Entertainment VP Dilip Ramachandran shares with Radioandmusic.com’s Swagata Panjari the key challenges faced by the company and sheds light on the live music scene of the country. Ramachandran also revealed the company’s plans for future ventures on national and international front. 

Excerpts:

Tell us about Mooz Entertainment?

Mooz is a live-entertainment company promoted by the promoters of Zoom Communications Limited (along with  a consortium of private equity investors) which is South Asia’s largest outside broadcast facilities company and has undertaken landmark projects in the past, including  broadcast of all five seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the 19th Commonwealth Games and several other prestigious sports and entertainment events for numerous television channels, both nationally and internationally. Zoom also did the complete production work for ‘Box Nation’, the largest boxing channel in Europe.

The aim of Mooz entertainment is to set equally high standards in the live entertainment space, and thereby play the anchor’s role in the transformation of India into the live music capital of Asia. We aim to bring world class live entertainment to India and the vision is not restricted merely to music. The logo ‘Trojan Horse’ is the epitome of our philosophy which means expecting the unexpected.

What is the nature of your business?

Mooz Entertainment has taken it upon itself to not only bring best-selling live acts into India, but also completely revolutionize the Indian entertainment scene altogether. The fact that we have a calendar with artists already contracted separates us from the field of speculative promoters and imparts solidity of vision thereby making us an attractive partner for sponsors. We seek to have a very definitive and long term association with music lovers across the country as well as sponsors and partners, all on basis of a long term sustainable vision.

For the first time, Mooz Entertainment is entering into the live music scenario. Comment

Mooz is a new company driven by a very old passion to entertain and comes into the scene with a very visible differentiator – a seasonal calendar. We are the first company to bring three city tours with defined calendar of events in consecutive year starting this September. It is no secret that our next big act is humongous indeed. The iconic band, Guns n Roses will perform 3-city tour in December’12. 

What lured you into live music?

Our passion for music which is reflected through our management as well as advisory board is what lured us into the live music. Our management comprises of accomplished and active musician Abhinav Dhar who is also co-founder and ad guru of the creative shop Dhar & Hoon; Harvey Goldsmith, who was associated with the biggest ticket international music events like the Live Earth and was promoter of iconic bands like the Rolling Stones, U2 and Led Zeppelin. The management also includes classic rock film, ‘Tommy’ producer Bill Curbishley who is also manager of The Who, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.

On advisor board, we have Shishir Lall who was member on the board of Pepsico India and also worked with Brooke Bond, Indus Creed rock machine and founder Bobby Duggal also known as songwriter/musician and an MTV award winner and I am a drummer for 17 years with Parikrama and am well versed with the Indian concert scene.

Which are the events organized by Mooz prior to the Korn concerts?

Korn is the first of our many, planned and confirmed concert tours. We seek to leverage the experience of Zoom Communications and our promoters for successful execution of our upcoming events.

Will Mooz entertainment organize national music event or it is limited to international artistes?

Mooz has well defined plan for the promotion of Indian talent, not just nationally, but also for promoting them internationally. We aspire towards creating Indian global stars. We intend to make India from a three-city concert to a nine-city concert country, which is equivalent to or better than Australia and just at par with Europe. Our intention is to showcase at least one domestic performer with each international act and we hope that in the near future such performers from India share the same stage with popular and legendary international performers.

Additionally, we have time bound plans to create live entertainment properties which we hope to create a storm in the Indian live entertainment scene and sooner than later in Asia as well.

What are your expectations from the Korn concerts?

Korn has been hailed as a pioneer in the past, and is known world-wide for its explosive live performances. From their earlier Nu-Metal roots, they have pushed the envelope considerably thus widening their appeal to include EDM fans as well. We expect a very good turnout at all the venues and memorable concerts that the attendees will remember far after the event has been held.

Which are sponsors/brands for the concerts?

We are in the process of associating with sponsors and partners for these events. We shall work closely with the music lovers in the country and with our partners and sponsors in the entertainment space in order to create a 360 degree synergy for all.

What are the promotional and marketing plans undertaken for the concerts?

We are undertaking extensive promotional campaigns leading up to the Korn concerts on traditional, non-traditional media and will also include on-ground activation. Our media plan   includes promotional spots on television channels for primetime telecast of the concerts and   post and prior parties of the concerts. A plan to telecast ‘Korn rockumentary’ is also in the pipeline.

We have similarly comprehensive media plans across radio, print, digital, on-ground and in-venue platforms. Various Korn centric videos will also be available on our YouTube channel. While traditional media platforms like television, radio and print will be an integral part of the media plan mix, there will be heavy emphasis on digital and social media platforms, wherein our target audience of 18-34 year old will engage on daily basis through several initiatives.

WE are also organizing contests, interview feeds across media platforms, merchandise give-aways and much more to support the Korn concerts, and make the concerts memorable in the true sense of the term.

Where do you foresee Indian music scene?

India has a very mature music audience but unfortunately it is a very nascent market. This is primarily because the country has been deprived of world class live entertainment and the absence of sufficient promotion of domestic talent. People here want to go to concerts to listen to live music. Live events also have to be organized in a world class manner and marketed well keeping in mind the preferences of the audiences. We see no reason why the Indian audiences can’t be given the same facilities and an experience similar to the best international live acts even in the absence of arenas and stadiums available for live entertainment. We also see no reason for Indian performers to not receive the attention they deserve. We have big hopes for the Indian music scene in which Mooz sees for itself a big catalytic role and opportunity.

Which other international artistes are on your list for the Indian market?

We are the first live-entertainment company in India which has a seasonal calendar on a regular basis. Korn concerts will be followed by a three city tour of the iconic band ‘Guns N Roses’ by December. And be rest assured, other equally highly popular acts will follow and may be, precede. Expect the unexpected.

Which are the future plans of the company?

We are here to change the live-entertainment scene in India. Theatre, opera, stand-up comedy and a very exciting plan for mixed martial arts (MMA) are amongst the many others of our planned repertoire. To know more about that you need to stay connected with the Trojan Horse and Mooz.

We are also planning to build music properties which will be huge in scale and attract national and international audiences to witness experiential events consisting of the most popular international talent available. These shall be started in India in the beginning and then taken overseas to other parts of Asia in the foreseeable future.