Bajaao
 | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | eCommerce, Musical instruments |
| Founded | 2005[1] |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Suman Singh (CMO), Ashutosh Pande (Founder & CTO), Jay Srinivasan (CEO) |
| Products | Musical instruments, Pro Audio Equipment, Studio Gear, Dj Gear, accessories |
| Revenue | ₹80 crore (2020-2021) |
| Subsidiaries | BAJAAO Entertainment |
| Website | www |
Bajaao Music Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian online retailer of musical instruments, studio equipment, DJ gear, lighting, cinema sound, and pro audio equipment.[2] The company began in 2005, when Ashutosh Pande founded the website Bajaao.com, a portal to sell musical instruments in India with a vision of supporting musicians in India.[3][4] In 2015, the Bajaao Music portal recorded substantial growth in sales and became the largest online musical instrument retailer in India.[3] The company headquarters is in Mumbai, India.
In February 2011, with its first round of investor funding, Bajaao.com raised 25 crore for growth and expansion. According to The Hindu, the company again raised 35 crore in 2014 from two US investors to expand the company's operations in small towns and add more musical instruments, categories, and labels.[5] Bajaao has seen significant growth since 2013. The company is reported to have doubled their registered user and around 350% in terms of revenue.[3]
History
[edit]Bajaao Music Pvt. Ltd was founded when Ashutosh Pande got the idea to start an eCommerce platform for retailing musical instruments when he noticed several musicians were facing problems due to the limited number of instrument dealers and some of them expressed this to him.[6] He decided to create an online platform initially with 500 products.[3] The company also entered into allied services including the studio equipment business, consultancy services, public broadcasting systems and help in conducting music events.[7]
Bajaao Music Pvt Ltd has three business units – N.O.C. – a 24/7 practice studio for musicians started in 2006, B69, a venue for independent music artists, and BAJAAO Consulting & Entertainment Private Limited.[8] The company has worked with Walt Disney Studio, Sony Music, Casio, Specialty Restaurants Ltd and Maharashtra Government.[9] In 2014, Bajaao Consulting & Entertainment Private Limited announced a new partnership with Hard rock Cafe to assist and manage artists performing at various stages across the country.[10] As of 2014, the company retails 16,000 musical instruments, accessories, and products across India through its online portal.
Funding
[edit]Initially, Ashutosh Pande took the seed capital of ₹4,00,000 from his family and friends and leased an 80 sq ft office at Andheri, Mumbai.[11] He raised Rs. 11 lakh from investors as angel funding.[5] To expand its reach in small markets and launch its own private label Vault, Bajaao Music Pvt. Ltd successfully raised ₹3.5 crore led by US based investors.[12]
In-house Products
[edit]Bajaao launched Vault guitars in 2011, a line of budget-priced instruments.[7] The company makes sound proofing equipment for studios and home recording in India, and makes cases and gig-bags for guitars, processors, drums, and other musical instruments.
BAJAAO Entertainment
[edit]BAJAAO Entertainment (formerly known as Bajaao Consulting and Entertainment Private Limited) is the events and services division of Bajaao.[13] It works primarily as an entertainment agency that creates brand experiences, undertakes event production, programming, artist management, sound rentals, and digital marketing.[14] It also provides acoustic and audio visual consultancy services. They are best known for BIG69, a music festival dedicated to rock and heavy metal music headlined by 5 international bands.[15][16]
Recognition
[edit]Bajaao Music Pvt Ltd gained recognition as the sole gear and sound partner in Bollywood Musical film Aashiqui-2.[2]
Ashutosh Pande also appeared on CNBC Young Turks in 2007, an Indian show on entrepreneurship.
The company organized BIG69, India's first heavy-metal festival, with international artists like Carcass, SikTh, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Hacktivist, and Underside along with other popular Indian bands.[17]
In 2012, Music Trades Magazine ranked Bajaao.com among the world's top 20 music retailers.
References
[edit]- ^ Nikhil Pahwa (3 February 2011). "JMD Telefilms Buys E-Commerce Biz Bajaao.com For $1.1M". Medianama. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ a b Jyoti Punjabi (4 April 2014). "Andheri revolutionising music". DNA India. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d "How Ashutosh Pandey's Bajaao.com has become India's largest e-retailer for musical instruments". Economic Times. 24 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ "JMD Telefilms buys online music instruments firm Bajaao.com". Moneycontrol. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ a b Meha Agarwal (9 April 2014). "Musical instruments retailer Bajaao to raise INR 35 Cr". Iamwire. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ Pallavi S (2 February 2011). "JMD Telefilms Buys Online Music Instruments Firm Bajaao.com". VCCircle. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ a b Preethi Chamikutty (27 May 2014). "Bajaao.com, the e-commerce venture that has been playing successfully since 2005".
- ^ Pranali Shah (9 April 2014). "Music Portal Bajaao.com Plans PE Fund Raise". DealCurry. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ "BAJAAO Music Private Limited". Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ Vijayeta Basu (12 January 2015). "METAL MESSIAHS". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ Biprorshee Das (11 September 2014). "Sometimes, all you need is a guitar". The Economic Times. Economic Times. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ Priyanka Pani (8 April 2014). "Bajaao.com to raise 35 cr from 2 US investors". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ Deeksha Thapliyal (28 February 2014). "Bajaao and Hard Rock Café partner for artist management". Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ "Bajaao & Hard Rock café come together for artist management". 24 February 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ Aashay Dalvi (18 July 2015). "Bajaao venturing into live properties through Bajaao Entertainment". Radio and Music. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ Somya Lakhani (9 November 2014). "Metal State of Mind". The Indian Express. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ "Bajaao.com revives B69 to bring BIG69 heavy metal festival to the city". 8 November 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2016.