Following a recovery in the nation’s film industry, record label Saregama India announced a 36% increase in second-quarter profit on Monday. This was due to the record company licencing more movie music to its streaming partners.
Profit increased from 338 million Indian rupees a year earlier to 460.7 million rupees ($5.59 million) in the three months that ended on September 30.
The RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, which owns Saregama, said its operating revenue increased by about 30% to 1.89 billion rupees.
The company’s music sector, which licences its library of more than 130,000 songs to streaming services like Spotify and Amazon Music as well as television networks like Kalaignar TV, saw a 24% increase in revenue to 1.51 billion rupees.
Saregama, which over 120 years ago in British-ruled India produced the first studio-recorded song in the nation, claims that various firms, including WhatsApp, Uber, and Dettol, have used its music, increasing its licencing earnings.
The wider relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions this year has enabled filmmakers to distribute more movies, and songs from these films make up the majority of the most popular songs in the nation.
And if a number of films this year fell short of expectations in terms of quality and finances, songs from movies like “Gangubai Kathiawadi” and “Naane Varuvean” have become hits in the music-obsessed nation.
Saregama’s increase in overall expenses of 32% was somewhat offset by higher revenue, particularly sales of its Carvaan portable music player.
At 0805 GMT on Monday, Saregama shares were up 2% at 383.50 rupees after falling nearly 28% this year.