Sa Re Ga Ma
Encyclopedia
Saregama India Limited, formerly The Gramophone Company of India is an India
n music company. Saregama also works in the home video
business. It uses the music labels Saregama, RPG Music and HMV
.
Saregama is located in Kolkata
, West Bengal
.
, London.
The company was incorporated on 13 August 1946 with the name of “The Gramophone Co. (India) Limited”. The name of the Company was subsequently changed to “The Gramophone Co. of India Limited” and with effect from 1 April 1956 the word “Private” was added to its name. It was converted into a public company on 28 October 1968 and consequently the name of the company was changed to “The Gramophone Company of India Limited”.
RPG Group takes over this company in 1985 from EMI
. In 2005, the last 8% remaining EMI stake in this company were sold, making it completely unrelated to EMI. Now, Indian operations of EMI is operated under Virgin Records India
, which set up in 1998.
The name of the company was changed from “The Gramophone Company of India Limited” to “Saregama India Limited” vide a fresh Certificate of Incorporation issued by the Registrar of Companies, West Bengal, on November 3, 2000.
Saregama provides the largest music repertoire across all genres and languages, which includes the top-recording artists of the past hundred years and some of the greatest names in music.
In an attempt to build its own brand, on 3 November 2000, RPG Group decided to change the company's name to Saregama India Limited, and also introduce a music label of the same name and use this and HMV for eight years on new recordings, and on old ones for 23 years, thereby attempting to gradually transfer the strong recognition from HMV to the Saregama brand.
in India. Saregama has an inventory of more than 600 cassettes and CDs. Saregama provides services in the following form:
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n music company. Saregama also works in the home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
business. It uses the music labels Saregama, RPG Music and HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
.
Saregama is located in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
.
Overview
In 1901, operations started as the first overseas branch of Electrical & Musical Industries Limited, EMIEMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, London.
The company was incorporated on 13 August 1946 with the name of “The Gramophone Co. (India) Limited”. The name of the Company was subsequently changed to “The Gramophone Co. of India Limited” and with effect from 1 April 1956 the word “Private” was added to its name. It was converted into a public company on 28 October 1968 and consequently the name of the company was changed to “The Gramophone Company of India Limited”.
RPG Group takes over this company in 1985 from EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. In 2005, the last 8% remaining EMI stake in this company were sold, making it completely unrelated to EMI. Now, Indian operations of EMI is operated under Virgin Records India
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, which set up in 1998.
The name of the company was changed from “The Gramophone Company of India Limited” to “Saregama India Limited” vide a fresh Certificate of Incorporation issued by the Registrar of Companies, West Bengal, on November 3, 2000.
Saregama provides the largest music repertoire across all genres and languages, which includes the top-recording artists of the past hundred years and some of the greatest names in music.
HMV brand
The Gramophone Company has always been better known as HMV (His Master's Voice) in India. So strong has been this recognition, that after the RPG Group takeover, it could not phase out the brand. RPG Group has been using the brand under license from the former parent company, EMI. It has tried to introduce parallel brands, such as RPG Music.In an attempt to build its own brand, on 3 November 2000, RPG Group decided to change the company's name to Saregama India Limited, and also introduce a music label of the same name and use this and HMV for eight years on new recordings, and on old ones for 23 years, thereby attempting to gradually transfer the strong recognition from HMV to the Saregama brand.
Music
Saregama is the largest record labelRecord label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
in India. Saregama has an inventory of more than 600 cassettes and CDs. Saregama provides services in the following form:
- Film music (old and new) – 70% of music ever recorded in India.
- Devotional (national and regional)
- Ghazals and Classical (Hindustani and Carnatic)
- Indi pop and world music and classic music
- Remixes and pop Bhangra
- Regional – Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Assamese, Oriya, Chattisgadi.
Home video
Saregama is the largest international home video provider in India. The following production house's DVDs and VCDs are released under the label of Saregama:- BollywoodBollywoodBollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
movies (more than 65% per year) - Warner Bros. Pictures (or Warner Home VideoWarner Home VideoWarner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
)- Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy film directed by Mike Newell and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
, Batman BeginsBatman BeginsBatman Begins is a 2005 American superhero action film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson,...
, Superman ReturnsSuperman ReturnsSuperman Returns is a 2006 superhero film directed by Bryan Singer. It is the fifth and final installment in the original Superman film series and serves as a alternate sequel to Superman and Superman II by ignoring the events of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace .The film stars...
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Universal StudiosUniversal StudiosUniversal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
(or Universal Studios Home EntertainmentUniversal Studios Home EntertainmentUniversal Studios Home Entertainment is the home video division of Universal Pictures...
)- Jurassic ParkJurassic Park (film)Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
and its sequels
- Jurassic Park
- New Line CinemaNew Line CinemaNew Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
- The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
films
- The Lord of the Rings
- ParamountParamount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
- That Touch of MinkThat Touch of MinkThat Touch of Mink is a 1962 romantic comedy starring Cary Grant and Doris Day. The film co-stars Gig Young, John Astin, Audrey Meadows, and Dick Sargent. In addition, baseball stars Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Yogi Berra make cameo appearances....
- That Touch of Mink
- British Broadcasting Corporation
- Metro-Goldwyn-MayerMetro-Goldwyn-MayerMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...