The T-Series story

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The T-Series story

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Case Code:

BECG010

Case Length:

Period:

Pub Date:

2002

Teaching Note:

YES

Price (Rs):

Organization:

Super Cassettes Industries Ltd.

Industry:

Leisure & Entertainment

Country:

India

Themes:

Accountability

Abstract

The case describes the role of the Indian music company, Super Cassettes Industries, in the music piracy business and examines the impact that this had on the music industry as a whole. The case also gives details of the fluctuating fortunes of Super Cassettes and presents the viewpoints of the group’s supporters as well as its critics. The case is so structured as to enable students to see how Super Cassettes built up a successful business empire through music piracy. Students can gain insights into the legal and ethical aspects of the T-Series story.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

Music piracy
Music industry in India
Ways to deal with music piracy.

In July 1997, some of the leading personalities from the Indian music industry gathered for a meeting at a five-star hotel in Chennai. Among those attending were representatives from music companies like Venus and Tips Industries (Tips) and the owner of Super Cassettes Industries, Gulshan Kumar (Gulshan). The meeting had been called to persuade Gulshan to co-operate with the other music companies.

The Rs 12.50 billion2 Indian music industry has long been considered to be synonymous with Indian film music. However, due to the promotional effects of satellite music television and the entry of global music companies in the 1990s, non-film genres, such as international music, Indi-pop and regional music have also become popular.Traditional music such as classical and devotional music and ghazals have also received renewed attention. The rapid increase in the number of corporate music retailing outlets, the increasing penetration of Compact Discs (CDs), the emergence of distribution channels such as the Internet and the ever-growing base of 60 million cassette players and four million CD players have facilitated the trend.

The term piracy is generally used to describe the deliberate infringement of copyright on a commercial scale. It is illegal and criminal in nature. Music piracy basically refers to three kinds of activities

Gulshan's father Chandrabhan and his family moved to Delhi from West Punjab in 1947. The family members began selling fruit on the roads and within a few years, earned enough money to establish a small fruit juice shop. Chandrabhan later started selling pre-recorded music by opening a record shop. In the early 1970s, Gulshan began looking after the music business and named it Super Cassettes.

Though GCI had won this case against T-Series, the problem of music piracy still plagued the industry.The music companies were handicapped by the legal definition of copyright violation wherein piracy was not a cognizable offence. The companies had to prove that cassettes were being pirated before getting a warrant of arrest. According to certain reports, music pirates were always tipped off about police raids in advance.

Following the accident, the GoI filed a compensation lawsuit against the UCC for an estimated US$3 billion. However, UCC felt that the GoI was to blame for the disaster. In December 1986, UCC filed a countersuit against the GoI and the State of Madhya Pradesh..

Keywords

Super Cassettes Industries, piracy business, music industry, successful business empire, piracy, Business Ethics Case Study, Case Study

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