For much of Indian cinema’s commercial history, the sale of music rights was treated as a routine pre-release recovery tool. Producers routinely monetised audio rights ahead of a film’s release to mitigate financial exposure, improve liquidity and hedge production risk. In the era of cassettes and CDs, the model was commercially rational and widely accepted.
With hindsight, however, that strategy often resulted in the quiet divestment of long-term intellectual property value.
A smaller group of producers adopted a different approach – retain ownership of the underlying music rights and monetise them through structured partnerships rather than outright sales.
One of the most frequently cited examples is Mukesh Bhatt. Instead of permanently assigning his music catalogue, he retained ownership and entered into monetisation arrangements over time. Initially partnering with Saregama and, more recently, Sony Music India, these deals have reportedly operated on a revenue-sharing basis, with the core IP remaining under his control.
This distinction is not merely contractual. It reflects a broader capital allocation strategy.
Bhatt is not alone. Producers such as Ashim Samanta, Romu Sippy and Suneel Darshan have also retained meaningful control over their music libraries. Years and, in some cases, decades after their films were released, these catalogues continue to generate recurring revenue streams.
The shift in music economics over the past two decades has been structural.
In the analogue era, revenues were largely linear and time-bound, driven by physical sales during a defined commercial window. In the digital ecosystem, monetisation has become recurring and scalable.
Streaming platforms generate continuous micro-revenue.
Short-form video platforms revive legacy tracks and introduce them to younger audiences.
Remakes and recreations extend the commercial lifespan of existing compositions.
Global digital distribution has effectively removed territorial limitations.
As a result, music libraries are no longer viewed as secondary or ancillary rights. They are increasingly regarded as appreciating annuity assets.
Unlike box office collections, which are event-driven and finite, music catalogues function more like yield-generating portfolios. They can be licensed, syndicated, partially diluted or even securitised, while allowing producers to retain perpetual ownership of the underlying IP.
Producers who preserved their rights are now witnessing the cumulative benefits of that decision. Those who opted for outright assignment secured immediate financial stability but forfeited long-term upside participation.
For the Indian film ecosystem, the lesson is becoming clearer with each passing cycle – content drives initial visibility, but music sustains continuity. Ownership, ultimately, defines legacy.
In an industry often measured by opening weekend numbers, the more enduring metric of wealth may well be the rights a producer continues to control three or four decades after release.