[Stock idea]: Saregama: A Music IP Business Playing the Long Game 🎵

saregama music subscription

Most investors look at Saregama and see a music company. The smarter lens is to see it as a content IP business — one that collects royalties on songs for 60+ years after the initial investment.

Here are several data points that reinforce exactly why this business model is structurally differentiated, but before that:

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Saregama – Interesting details from Concall

saregama music slide

 

FINANCIALS AT A GLANCE

  • Operating Revenue: ₹260 crores | Operating PBT: ₹76.5 crores
  • One-time non-cash charge of ₹7 crores (new Labour Code) → Reported profit: ₹69.5 crores
  • Adjusted EBITDA this quarter: 46% (management cautions this is an aberration)
  • Long-term adjusted EBITDA guidance maintained: 32%–33%

MUSIC SEGMENT — THE CORE ENGINE

  • Music grew 29% YoY this quarter; 18% for the first 9 months of FY26
  • Management guiding for full-year FY26 music growth of 17%–18%
  • Medium-to-long-term guidance: 21%–23% annual music revenue growth
  • Key driver: New content investment — not just the legacy catalogue
  • Revenue split (FY25 data): 56% from 21st century music, 44% from legacy catalogue (Kishore Kumar, Rafi, Lata era)
  • Industry grows 5%–8%; Saregama’s excess growth comes from rising market share in new music

BHANSALI PRODUCTIONS — A STRATEGIC MOAT

  • Saregama acquired a significant minority stake, deal closed January 30, 2026
  • Valuation linked to Bhansali Productions’ financial performance over 3 years — rewards future performance over past brand value
  • Key benefit: Exclusive, pre-agreed access to all Bhansali film music — no bidding wars
  • Saregama gets financial oversight; creative control stays with Sanjay Leela Bhansali
  • Option (not obligation) to increase stake to 51% by 2030
  • Big films in pipeline: Love & War (Q2 FY27) and Nani’s Paradise (Q1 FY27)

ARTIST MANAGEMENT & LIVE EVENTS

  • 270+ artists managed; 300 million+ followers across Instagram and YouTube
  • 60 new artists added this quarter alone
  • Revenue model: Saregama makes artists big through its content platform → earns a share of live events, weddings, and brand deals
  • Live events targeting high single-digit margins in steady state; capital-light model (cash recycled in 30–40 days)
  • Events revenue is intentionally lumpy — management asks investors to strip out one-offs like Diljit’s India tour (Q3 FY25) when evaluating trend growth

SUBSCRIPTION — THE OPTION VALUE

  • India’s paid music streaming penetration: ~1% today
  • Management’s thesis: Once Spotify and Saavn push users behind a paywall (like Amazon Music/Apple/Gaana already have), India could see 100 million paid subscribers at ₹90–₹100/month
  • This potential is NOT baked into the 21%–23% guidance — it’s pure upside
  • Saregama is skewing new content spend towards languages where paid subscription adoption is expected to happen first

WHAT TO WATCH

  • Post FY27, content spend growth expected to moderate to inflation-linked 6%–10% annually (vs. 30%–50% in recent years)
  • Pocket Aces (influencer/video arm): Moving from ₹10 crore loss → breakeven in FY26; guided 25% CAGR post-breakeven
  • In-house films business being wound down over 12–15 months; short-format video (FilterCopy, web series) continues
  • New content spend for FY26: ₹275–300 crores (lower than planned due to movie release delays)
  • Total 3-year content investment guidance (FY25–FY27): ~₹1,000 crores

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