Key Financial Figures (Quarter Ended 30th September 2026)

  • Revenue from Operations: ₹3,143 million, representing a 37% year-on-year (YoY) growth.
  • Adjusted EBITDA: ₹1,180 million, representing a 39% YoY growth.
  • Operational PBT: ₹858 million, representing a 43% YoY growth.

Music Vertical Performance

  • The overall music vertical (comprising licensing, artist management, and retail) recorded a revenue of ₹2,513 million, registering 35% YoY growth.
  • Quarterly EBITDA for the music vertical stood at ₹1,540 million with 37% YoY growth.
  • Quarterly net margin for the music vertical was ₹1,165 million with 46% YoY growth.
  • Management attributed the strong growth partly to a low base in H1 of Financial Year 2026.
  • 60% of all music revenue in FY26 came from music released post-2000.

Guidance and Outlook

  • Management maintained its short-to-medium-term guidance for the music vertical of 20% to 23% revenue CAGR and 60% to 65% EBITDA margin.
  • The company evaluates its performance on a rolling 12-month basis and advises analysts to do the same.
  • The company's strategy is built around the long-term opportunity in India, described as the "most under-penetrated large music market on earth" with only a 1% share of the global recorded music market (USD 31.7 billion in 2025 per IFPI).

Content Strategy and Investment

  • FY27 Content Spend: Guidance is between ₹300 crores and ₹350 crores on new content.
  • Future Content Spend: Going forward, content budgets are expected to increase at a nominal rate of ~10% per annum. Assuming FY27 spend at the midpoint of ₹325 crores, the company is looking at new content spends of approximately ₹1,200 crores over the three financial years from FY28 to FY30.
  • The company maintains a guidance of a 5-year payback period for all new music acquisitions, followed by 55 to 75 years of returns.
  • The catalog comprises over 180,000 songs, growing by 4,500 to 5,000 new releases every year.

Content Highlights for Q2 and H2

  • Q2 Focus: Non-film music, including I-Pop Star albums in Hindi and Tamil, Haryanvi and Bihari songs, and Punj superstar Nijjar's album. The biggest film hit was the Telugu album 'Paradise', whose song 'yeshanagula' hit global number one on YouTube's daily music video charts.
  • H2 Focus: Will shift more to movie albums, including Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Love & War', Sivakarthikeyan's 'Seyon', Dharma's 'Naagzilla' (Kartik Aaryan starrer), and a Tiger Shroff movie produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

Key Business Vertical Updates

  • Subscription Growth: Management is bullish on subscription growth in India, noting it is growing "much, much faster" than ad-based revenue. Cited Spotify's co-CEO identifying India as its biggest growth opportunity.
  • AI Strategy: The company's position is that AI will be beneficial long-term for cost reduction and speed to market. It is fighting unlicensed exploitation.
  • Has invested in technology to track unlicensed AI cover versions on streaming platforms to either buy them out or pull them down.
  • Has created two AI-dedicated teams: one for content creation (e.g., podcasts, new-age music videos) and another for process optimization, which has already resulted in marginal manpower cost savings.
  • Plans to release around 100 hours of podcast content in Q3 using GenAI tools.
  • Artist Management: Represents 340 artists with a combined follower base of over 450 million on Instagram and YouTube. Monetizes artists through live events, weddings, and brand endorsements, earning a share. This vertical is a meaningful EBITDA contributor.
  • Live Events: Expanded into multiple formats in FY27.
  • Carvaan Live: 54 smaller concerts targeting middle-aged/older audiences were produced in Q2, serving ~10,000 people.
  • Ilaiyaraaja US Tour: 11 cities, serving 20,000 audience members.
  • Devotional Format: 17 shows featuring IPs like 'Krishna', 'Backstage Siblings', and Jaya Kishori.
  • Long-term strategy is to shift focus towards owned IPs (e.g., UN40, HaHaKaar, Krishna) and reduce dependence on artist-based concerts, despite lower initial profitability for IPs.
  • Brand Partnerships: Executed over 20 brand deals in Q2 with partners including Apple, Airbnb, Google, Cadbury, and Tanishq.
  • Video Vertical: Revenue declined 16% YoY to ₹183 million due to a conscious decision to wind down the film business and invest in Bhansali Productions instead. Revenue may decline further in coming quarters during this transition. Future investment will focus on GenZ-focused short-format content and TV/web shows with advertisers/platforms on board beforehand.

Investments Update

  • Pocket Aces: Reached break-even in FY26 and is moving towards profitability in FY27.
  • Bhansali Productions: Gearing up for its biggest release, 'Love & War', in Q4 and is actively working on its slate for FY28.

Q&A Session Highlights

  • Events Business Loss: Attributed to higher initial investments in new owned IPs (e.g., UN40, HaHaKaar, Krishna), which are being charged off and not capitalized, as part of a conscious strategy to build pricing power long-term.
  • Increase in Unallocable Expenditure: The increase to ₹27 crores (from ₹18 crores YoY) was netted off against other income. The prime reason was a 55% YoY decline in other income, as cash reserves previously earning interest have been deployed into investments (Pocket Aces, Haryanvi catalog, Bhansali position). Excluding this impact, unallocable costs were flat YoY.
  • TikTok Potential Return: Management views a potential return of TikTok to India as "very positive," believing it would expand the market and that its payment structures in other regions are better suited for IP owners.
  • Carvaan App & Club: Both are in a testing/experimentation phase with a small group of Carvaan hardware owners. The app is not intended to be a hardcore music streaming app but rather to build a community for older demographics. No monetization details or user metrics were shared.
  • Revenue Reporting Clarification: For guidance purposes, "Music" comprises three segments: Licensing, Artist Management, and Retail. While results are reported in two segments, management combines all three for guidance of 20-23% CAGR.
  • Current Liabilities Increase: The increase of over ₹100 crores was attributed to advances received from customers, which will be recognized as revenue over time.
  • Digital vs. Non-Digital Split: A large chunk of revenue comes from digital. The non-digital segment shows decent growth primarily in brand partnerships and public performance, while TV and radio licensing grow at a much slower pace. The exact split was not disclosed as it is considered competitor-sensitive.