Exclusive | There is a huge demand of original music: MTV's Chandrashekhar L

It was in year 2010 when MTV started producing original music content that Chandrashekhar L led MTV India into original music production and syndication and has been at the helm of strategy creation and execution for all of MTV’s music initiatives since then. To him also goes the credit of bringing home iconic international formats like Coke Studio @ MTV, MTV Unplugged, MTV Video Music Awards India (VMAi) which were customized for Indian audiences to give them a unique identity. He has also conceptualized new formats and created original Content IP on the channel such as MTV Sound Trippin & MTV Spoken Word. While each of these music initiatives started off as pure TV shows, Chandrashekhar successfully created additional revenue streams for these shows beyond sponsorships by creating a profitable eco-system of digital, physical syndication and Live events.

In an exclusive conversation with Adgully, Chandrashekhar L., Vice President- Programming, Commercial & Music Content at MTV, Viacom 18 Media Pvt Ltd., shared some insights on their popular projects and shows, live events, how he considers the environment conducive for independent/original music and MTV’s focus on different media platforms.

Having been associated with MTV since 2010, when asked about his role and responsibility at MTV, he shared saying, “I handle the Commercial & Programming Strategy function across all content genres for MTV. Also manage all Music Label & Film Studio relations, ranging from Content Acquisition to Talent Relations as well as Content Planning and Playout on MTV. I ensure the planning and scheduling of the content on the channel.  My responsibilities also include budgeting the content and execution of all the music shows.”

MTV has initiated a profitable eco system of content syndication and distribution with all its music shows since 2010. Elaborating further on this and explaining how this thought was conceived he said, “Independent music is consumed in India and when we started it was growing in the market. We did not know how well it was accepted in countries, but yes it was growing globally. It actually happened 4-5 years ago when Coco-Cola came to us with an interesting concept. Coke Studio @ MTV on the channel too is their property and when we got good reviews from the first season of Coke Studio @ MTV this led to bring in the international franchise ,MTV Unplugged. So, as soon as Coke Studio @ MTV concluded its season we had MTV Unplugged to go on the screen. We also conceptualized another format i.e. MTV Sound Trippin, a combination of travel and music. Thus we see a whole new environment opening up for independent music and the strategy was to focus more on original music.”

Getting successful shows on board is not an easy task. Sharing about the efforts required to do so he says, “Producing a music show like Coke studio and MTV unplugged requires loads of effort. It's a tougher task than producing a regular show on television. While producing such shows we have to ensure certain things. For e.g. we have to take care of the environment where musicians are recording the song because that recording will not be just limited to the show but has a massive reach, and would later be heard and shared by audience via media platforms like Youtube & Music Player's and others. It's just not about producing a show on TV, but producing a music show."

Each of the music initiatives done by him,  which started off as pure television shows has successfully created additional revenue streams for these shows beyond sponsorships by creating a profitable eco-system of digital, physical syndication and Live events. The performance of all the music shows across digital & social media, physical outlets and Live events has helped MTV create a footprint beyond TV, and stamped MTV’s music leadership across platforms.

When asked how have these concepts helped in generating profit for MTV India, he reverted, “Channels run their shows depending upon the advertising but when we opened up to other media such as digital or mobile it created a new revenue line for us which was not there earlier. Be it Coke Studio or MTV Unplugged, it is beyond advertising. It was not just limited to television but was also available in video and audio format on other mediums.”

He has leveraged these formats by creating extensions in the LIVE domain as well, working with talent across Film & Independent music genres. With MTV Video Music Awards India (VMAi), and the LIVE concert formats for Coke Studio @ MTV, and MTV Unplugged, the brand has been able to establish a massive on ground presence in the music scene.

Explaining how the shows stand differently from other international shows of its genre, he said, “I would like to stress upon Sound Trippin as we started from scratch after MTV Unplugged, a big property. We are focused upon pioneering new concepts. We launched Roadies which was one of the first youth centric reality show on MTV. Then we had Coke Studio and MTV Unplugged which has seen active participation from Indian artists in these shows.”

“Going forward we continue to import and create versions of our international franchisers. A few months back we did a show called MTV Spoken Word in which we gave different raps to our artists and they had to create a song on the show and Honey Singh with his first single of 2013, Bring Me Back featured on this show. The focus was to innovate and recreate the content and we also continue to import loads of international franchisee,” he added.

The shows are doing well on different media platforms. When asked how the shows are placed across different platforms and how effective is the reach he enthusiastically informed, “Very nicely, we are well placed. We have a massive following on digital platforms, grossing over 20 million YouTube views, 3 million fans on Facebook and over 10 million download streams on mobile platforms, and social media love for Brand MTV. With over 25,000 physical CDs sold thus far for Coke Studio, MTV Unplugged & MTV Sound Trippin, MTV has also stamped a physical presence in retail shelves.”

He went on to add, “With all the MTV musical shows we are able to reach audiences on digital platforms as well on ground. The digital platform helps us to make an effective reach and when viewers have heard the music on television, they can download it on these platforms any time they wish to do so.”

Chandrashekhar also leads the Commercial & Programming Strategy function across all content genres for MTV; he manages all Music Label & Film Studio relations, ranging from Content Acquisition to Talent Relations as well as Content Planning and Playout on MTV.

Speaking about their plans and strategies for the near future Chandrashekhar informed us that they have just completed the recording of Coke Studio season 3 which will be aired on MTV on 17th August 2013. “We have moved on from being one producer to multi producer with our first season leading up to the third season. We have Sound Trippin, then awards, MTV Unplugged among the other loads of programmes lined up for the near future,” he concluded.

Chandrashekhar is a Post Graduate in Communications with a specialization in Media, from MICA, Ahmedabad and has a decade of experience in the Media domain across varied functions like Research, Marketing, Programming, Commercial & Business Planning, Music Acquisition & Syndication and Creative Direction. He has played pivotal roles in the Broadcast Consulting Division, The Strategy Group at TAM Media Research, and in the Marketing function at The Walt Disney Company, India before joining MTV.