Nothing gives a bigger high to music artists than performing in front of a live audience, says Siddharth Anand Kumar, senior vice-president, Films and Events, Saregama India. After the musical Disco Dancer, the label’s new division Saregama Live has come up with other live shows such as Say Cheese Grandpa, Manav Kaul’s Jo Dooba So Paar and Jungle Book for a diverse audience. Kumar spoke to The Telegraph Online about the idea behind Saregama Live, the landscape of live entertainment and changing trends.

What’s the genesis of Saregama Live?

Siddharth Anand Kumar: As a music label that is converting itself into a content creation company, ‘Live’ is an essential piece of the puzzle where our mission is ‘artist first’. Traditionally, a music label takes out the music, but we believe in helping artists create a bigger fan base. We want to facilitate the artists in connecting substantially with their fans. We intend to create a safe and organised platform where artists can interact and grow their fan base.

Your target audience is diverse.

Siddharth Anand Kumar: Our target audience depends on the artists we are working with. We have worked with artists who target teenagers and then we have worked with Diljit Dosanjh who have fans across age groups. We also do seated venues where semi-classical artists perform. The motive is to help the artist create better connections.

Tell us about the kind of shows you have organised recently.

Siddharth Anand Kumar: Among the big ones, we did Diljit Dosanjh’s Born to Shine tour in Australia, New Zealand, North America and India. We also did theatrical musical plays such as Disco Dancer for the stage, which premiered in London, and we did 10 shows of it in Mumbai. We have created a children’s play, Say Cheese Grandpa, which is adventurous and adds good value for kids between the ages of four and nine. We intend to do more shows of Disco Dancer and Say Cheese Grandpa. We are rehearsing and booking venues. We want to collaborate with more artists as we are gearing up for a new season.

What have you noticed from the audience behaviour pattern?

Siddharth Anand Kumar: After Covid, there’s a willingness to go out and experience things. Something that the whole event industry is working on is we must provide a good experience to the audience, from the time the tickets are purchased to how they are parking the car, how clean the toilets are and if it is safe for all kinds of people, what snacks are served and so many other things. We want to make sure the customer experience is excellent.

What kind of feedback have you received from the artists?

Siddharth Anand Kumar: For all the singers and talents we work with, there’s no greater high than performing live in front of an audience. We have a lot of technology that can change the way one sounds and how one looks in a music video, but live connection is something that every talent wants to build with great satisfaction.

Private viewing is something that people developed as a habit during the pandemic. Do you see it as a challenge?

Siddharth Anand Kumar: I don’t think that’s a challenge for the live space because the amount of ticketing revenue is growing. Live experience is a category of its own.

Would you venture into other forms of performing arts such as standup comedy and poetry gigs?

Siddharth Anand Kumar: For now, we would be concentrating on things around music because it’s our core and this is a new division.