MusicWorld - Redefining Indian Music Retailing

Thus, a majority of the trade in the Rs 15 billion (1999-2000) Indian music market took place through the small outlets.

In the absence of any major countrywide organized sector players, music companies had to shell out a huge amount as margins at various levels in the distribution channel.

Issues such as piracy of cassettes and CDs were a major problem, which prevented the industry from reaching its full growth potential. Given these circumstances, the establishment of outfits such as MusicWorld seemed to have come as a welcome development in the industry.

Eventually, the Goenkas became names worth reckoning in the Indian business scene. Badri Das Goenka and Hari Ram were even knighted by the British for their contribution to Indian business, with the latter becoming one of the earliest presidents of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and the first Indian Chairman of the Imperial Bank of India³. The group assumed its present form after Hari Ram's grandson Rama Prasad Goenka (Goenka) came into the picture. Goenka was responsible for the formation of the RPG Group of companies. Over the decades, the group diversified into a number of businesses through a network of companies (Refer Table I for information about the RPG group companies).