Mohit Joshi Predicts Shift In Consumption of Music

Mohit Joshi, Managing Director – India, Havas Media Group is a seasoned media professional with 20+ years of experience in the industry and currently the Managing Director - India of Havas Media Group. Prior to being promoted to his current role, he was Managing Director - India, Havas Media. His decade-plus two at Havas Media Group has seen the agency grow exponentially. Through his career, Mohit has worked on a wide range of categories and brands. He has successfully straddled strategic planning, AOR management and buying functions.  Some of the brands include Pepsi, Dabur, Hero Honda, Nestle, Reckitt Benckiser and Hyundai, Quikr, Yepme, Taj Hotels, amongst others. [caption id="attachment_9548" align="aligncenter" width="356"] Mohit Joshi, Managing Director – India, Havas Media Group[/caption] A close observer of industry trends and counted in as ‘The Greatest Marketing Influencers 2018’ by World Federation of Marketing Professionals, Mohit shares opinions and views on industry issues. He is a speaker and moderator at various events including ad: tech India, IAMAI, e-Tailing India, e4m Conclave, BW BusinessWorld; a judge at awards including Spikes Asia; contributes to varied publications and is an advisory member of the MMA Forum India. He started his advertising career with HTA, later rechristened as Mindshare, where he worked on the prestigious GSK account. His other experience includes a four-year stint with Universal McCann, where he managed the Nestle - L’Oreal business. In his years with the agency, he witnessed the doubling of the Nestle business and his responsibilities.  He moved to Zenith Optimedia as Vice President of Planning for Nestle when the business moved to the agency as part of the international alignment. What was your take away from Music Inc 2.0 It was a great event which brought people from different facets of the music industry together and discussed common issues and collaborative opportunities.  What do you think is the state and scope of music in the present scenario in India? I said this in the panel and I will repeat here too - In India, music is heavily influenced by Bollywood. Efforts are being made to make independent music big but all those efforts are still not enough to make non-Bollywood music a mainstream currency with similar monetization opportunities.  How do you think different industries/government can contribute to the music culture? Music has always been an integral part of our culture. The easiest way to get music into the industry/brand is to create a unique anthems/musical mnemonics that associate with that industry/sports/culture/ event. Is there a cricket anthem in our country?  Probably many but none that stands out. Again giving a Bollywood example, ‘ChakDe India’ has become synonymous with all sports (and not just hockey). We should also give opportunities to non-Bollywood music partners to create relevant anthems for our industries/partnerships. Organizations can contribute too by organizing concerts, conducting jamming sessions & creating unique office anthems just like in schools/colleges. We used to have our hostel anthems at IITD. Government departments should at their end promote local and ethnic music of their respective states. Conduct shows, create awareness and organise competitions. This is happening but at a very subdued level. It needs to happen in a more organised and sustained way. How do you think live music can be integrated into different sections of the industry? Live music has already penetrated into the restaurant/hospitality industry. Even social events today see a lot of live music. Today, we have movies like ‘Gully Boy’ promoting Rap music in India. MTV launching shows like ‘Hussle’ helps promote different music genres & gives opportunities to fresh talent. DLF Cyber Hub in Gurgaon organizes live concerts featuring not-so-popular, amateur bands, ranging from Bollywood to Sufi which is a hit among the crowds. What direction do you think the music industry is heading in, in the future? Music will soon be consumed 100% online. Already a significant shift has happened in that direction.