Saregama uses GenAI videos to refresh vintage catalogue and push paid streaming
Saregama is creating lower-cost, contemporary music videos for older songs where it lacks original video rights, while backing a paid-only streaming opportunity. The company estimates India could reach 100 million paid music subscribers at about ₹100 a month if free supply is curtailed.
What happened
Saregama is using GenAI to create low-cost contemporary videos for vintage songs, where it lacks original video rights. It is also pushing a paid-only streaming
Key facts
- ₹100 proposed monthly subscription price
- 100 million potential paid subscribers
- 3% paid-streaming penetration in India
- 64% of free users may shift to paid services if free content ends
- 83% revenue from music
- 11% revenue from video
- 6% revenue from live events
- 67% revenue from streaming and broadcasting platforms
- 19% revenue from brands
- 14% revenue from direct customers
- Pocket Aces broke even in FY26
Why this matters
The move makes Saregama a potential partner for streaming platforms, creators and rights owners seeking scalable catalogue revitalisation and subscription-led music offerings.
What to watch
- Growth in Indian paid music subscribers, especially evidence of sustained conversion beyond telecom-bundled or promotional plans.
- Any reduction in free-tier functionality, catalogue availability, download access, audio quality or ad-load tolerance at major streaming platforms.
- Saregama disclosures on catalogue streaming revenue, digital margins, video-production volume, licensing income and return on refreshed legacy tracks.
- YouTube and short-video engagement for newly visualised vintage songs versus comparable tracks without refreshed video assets.
- New Indian copyright guidance, court cases or industry agreements concerning AI-generated visuals, voice replication, performer likeness and derivative works.
- Competitive catalogue-refresh initiatives from other Indian labels, which could raise content volume and reduce the novelty advantage.
- Expansion of carrier billing, UPI autopay, family plans or low-price bundles that make a roughly ₹100 monthly music plan easier to adopt.
- Prioritise high-recognition songs with strong audio rights but no exploitable original-video rights, using performance data to rank video-production candidates.
- Build repeatable GenAI production workflows with legal clearance, artist-estate consultation and provenance records to lower future rights and reputational risk.
- Package refreshed catalogue into thematic playlists, short-form clips, film/TV licensing pitches and festival or nostalgia-led campaigns rather than relying only on standalone video views.
- Use catalogue scale to negotiate better placement, minimum guarantees, premium-tier promotion and bundled subscription offers with DSPs, telecom operators and device ecosystems.
- Test whether refreshed video assets raise conversion from free listeners to paid users, not only views, and shift investment toward tracks with measurable subscriber or licensing uplift.
- Prepare for artist-rights scrutiny by establishing policies on voice cloning, likeness use, crediting, royalty participation and AI-content disclosure.