MUMBAI: In a country where music is a part of everyday life, music labels have seen a tremendous growth over the years.

 And to give a tough competition to the existing ones, Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee) has announced its foray into the music label space with its latest venture, Zee Music Company (ZMC).

The ZMC has plans to acquire the music rights of over 20 major motion pictures in the financial year 2014-15.

Introducing the label, Zee managing director and CEO Punit Goenka exults: “Zee has always been a leader in the media and entertainment space, be it films or television, and branching out into the music label space gives us an opportunity to widen our business. The music industry is a large playing field and there is scope for us to explore the opportunity in this market. Technology has also emerged as a key transformer of the music industry and digital revenues are driving growth in the market. Since we are a content company, it is essential to own intellectual property as content is the king.”

The music industry in India currently stands at a staggering figure of Rs 960 crore and projected figures for 2014 is Rs 1,010 crores. The industry is expected to only grow over the years and reach Rs 1,780 crore in 2018.

ZMC business head and EVP Anurag Bedi, believes that ZMC will be a valuable addition to the business. He stated: “It’s a great space to be in, as music is something that is consumed universally. The Hindi film industry is currently in its best phase musically and there is a plethora of talent. We had been toying with this idea and finally we have entered this space.”

Talking about the acquisitions, Bedi says, “We are thrilled at having acquired the rights to the music of the Akshay Kumar-Sonakshi Sinha starrer ‘Holiday’ which is jointly produced by Reliance Big Entertainment, Sunshine Pictures and Hari Om Entertainment Company.”

Bedi further adds, “We have also partnered with Fox Star Studios and signed the latter for the music of five of its Hindi releases for the year, including the Saif Ali Khan and Riteish Deshmukh starrer ‘Humshakals’, Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif starrer ‘Bang Bang’ and one of the most anticipated releases of the year ‘Bombay Velvet’ starring Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.”

Future partnerships of ZMC include the big players; Dharma Productions, Excel Entertainment and other top studios.