Magnasound

Magnasound
Type Private
Industry Music entertainment
Founded 1989
Headquarters Bombay, India
Key people Shashi Gopal, Chief managing director
Kalpana Gopal, Director
Madhav Das, Director
Revenue Rs 500 crore (2000)[1]

Magnasound was an Indian record company that specialized in Indian classical music and Indipop. It was distributed by OMI Music Inc.[2] Shashi Gopal was the Managing director of Magnasound.

History

Shashi Gopal founded Magnasound in 1989 with his wife Kalpana and brother-in-law Madhav Das.[3] The three launched the company with their life savings which totaled Rs 6 lakhs. Suresh Thomas served as General Manager of the company until 1992 when he left to form his own label, Crescendo.[4] In the early 90s, the company gained a reputation for signing young artists like Daler Mehndi, Baba Sehgal, and Alisha Chinai.[5] Singer Adnan Sami became their most successful artist when he sold 10 lakh copies of his first album Kabhi to Nazar Milao.[6] The album would go on to sell well over 2 million copies. Already established artists like A. R. Rahman and Asha Bhosle also released albums for the label. Magnasound began to concentrate more on classical artists. Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri became its flagship classical artist when she signed with Magnasound in 1994. Magnasound was also one of the first Indian labels to concentrate on music videos, taking advantage of the new MTV India channel.[1]

In 2003, it emerged that Magnasound was in financial trouble. The company owed Rs 12.02 crore to various creditors and Rs 50.61 lakh to its artists. Magnasound filed for bankruptcy after the Bombay High Court ordered the company to pay Asha Bhosle Rs. 1.20 crore for unpaid royalties.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Sekhar (2005). Management Control Systems. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. p. 26. ISBN 0070585938. 
  2. ^ Bessman, Jim (September 25, 1999). "Bhangra Beat Transforms Indie Pop Scene". Billboard: pp. 1,100-101. 
  3. ^ Kamath, Sudhish (May 28, 2010). "Voice of the artiste". The Hindu. http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/money-and-careers/article440410.ece. Retrieved December 13, 2011. 
  4. ^ Chopra, Anil (April 23, 1994). "BMG Planning a Higher Profile In India". Billboard. 
  5. ^ Sreekumar, Priya (December 4, 2011). "Fusion is my passion, says Sunny Viswanath". Deccan Chronicle. http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tabloid/all-rounders/fusion-my-passion-says-sunny-viswanath-164. Retrieved December 12, 2011. 
  6. ^ "Chartbusters From Pakistan". Indian Express. June 16, 2011. http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/4358/. Retrieved December 13, 2011. 
  7. ^ Ghoge, Kataki (August 13, 2004). "Magnasound faces the music". Screen. http://www.screenindia.com/news/Magnasound-faces-the-music/8799/. Retrieved December 13, 2011.