A camping festival makes a lot of business sense, says Universal Music's Devraj Sanyal

The live entertainment (music) space with the likes of Sunburn, NH7, Supersonic and Enchanted Valley Carnival is a close to Rs 150-crore industry, and is growing rapidly at a rate of 15-20 per cent year on year. Universal Music, through its Indian arm, has recently acquired its first ever live music property, Enchanted Valley Carnival (EVC). The EVC, which is in its third year, is from December 18-20, at Amby Valley. Devraj Sanyal, MD of Universal Music India, in a conversation with Ajita Shashidhar of Business Today, talks about the business of music festivals. Edited excerpts:

BT: This is the first time Universal Music has ever acquired a live music festival in India. What is the rationale?

Devraj Sanyal: Music festivals have become a serious business in India, and will be a Rs 500 to Rs 700 crore industry by 2020. People aren't willing to pay Rs 5 for a song, but people are happy to pay Rs 10,000 for an experience, and we are seeing this number grow. We as Universal Music wanted to be part of that growth story.

The reason for buying EVC is because we felt that despite being small, they got their vibe right. Its biggest difference is that it is a camping festival. You put up tents and live right inside the festival. From a business point of view, a camping festival makes a lot of sense.

BT: Can you explain to us the business model of a camping festival and why it makes more sense?

Sanyal: So, if you go for a music festival out of your city, you will end up spending at least Rs 10,000 per person on the ticket to enter the festival. But before that you need a place to stay. And a decent hotel in a place like, say, Goa (where two of the largest music festivals are held), will cost you Rs 10,000 per day. Then, to reach the festival you will need to hire a cab or bikes. You will also need to spend on food. So, if you put everything together, you end up spending anywhere between Rs 40,000-50,000 even before you step into the festival. This makes festivals unaffordable for most people.

By organising a camping festival, our endeavour is to make EVC more affordable. We are demolishing the earlier model. First of all, our choice of venue is Amby Valley, which is close to both Mumbai and Pune. On a tank-load of gas, six people can come to EVC, spend Rs 6,000 per ticket, build their own tents and live right in the midst of the festival. In Rs 10,000-12,000 one can stay, eat and experience the festival. At one-fifth the cost of any major festival, we will deliver the same thing. I am trying to break the price barrier and say that festivals are not just for the privileged, they are for everyone.

We are also targeting the privileged. Not only can people get their own tents, we are also upgrading to VIP camps priced at Rs 6,000 per night. You could even buy a luxury tent between Rs 18,000 and Rs 20,000 a night, and get unlimited booze and access to after parties. We are creating super luxury tents at one end and super affordable at the other end.

BT: Apart from camping, what are the other differentiators that you are trying to create?

Sanyal: It's not anymore about who's playing, but what you are doing differently. If competition has Gueta, we have Tiesto and Fatboy Slim. But it is not about who is playing, it is about whether you go there safely. I am trying to create EVC as a place where it is safe, no overcrowding, there is enough water, enough manpower, enough security.

For us, safety is paramount. You usually stand at the bar for 35 minutes in most festivals to get a drink. So, we are building mechanisms to make the experience paramount. You shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes to get a drink. We are trying to go cashless. I have my EVC band, which would have a chip, and I go to the bartender and flash it and buy two drinks.

We are spending a lot of money on the infrastructure. We have town planning consultants, disaster management consultants. We are spending top dollar for the best agencies on the planet.

BT: Can you tell us about the music that would be played at EVC? Is it going to be just EDM, as most festivals in India are?

Sanyal: We are going to be multi-genre. We will have EDM, rock, Indie and everything under the sun. We even have Hindi rock bands.

BT: You were part of the team that conceptualised Sunburn. What have you learnt from Sunburn?

Sanyal: Sunburn is undoubtedly the pioneer of live music, and I have learnt a lot having been a part of it. At EVC, we are making a few corrections to fulfill the customer's needs. We have upgraded quality. We know the customer can't spend too much, so we have made it affordable. We know customer doesn't want only electronica, so we have made it multi-genre. We are clearly giving the folks what they want.

BT: What is your vision for EVC? Are you looking at taking the festival to other cities?

Sanyal: This year we are aiming to have 15,000 people over a period of three days. We may take it to other cities, but it is not on the agenda right now. We will take it to other countries for sure. We will try to take it to Singapore next year.

EVC should be a Rs 100-crore property in three years. But let me tell you that Universal is extremely serious about the business of music festivals. I am currently evaluating a jazz and Sufi festival. We may acquire or license it.