Giant posters of Kajarare, Kites, Wanted and of course, Blue (the reason why we're here), stare at you from the walls of the T-Series studio in Andheri. In his plush office, Chairman Bhushan Kumar waits with the just-released pen drive and MSD card for forthcoming release, Blue. The AR Rahman soundtrack is one of the first to be officially launched on a pen drive and MicroSD card. Kumar admits that the format isn't new. "What's new is our concept of preloading songs, music videos, wallpapers and screensavers, and selling it as a product."

T-Series chairman Bhushan Kumar.

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So far, pen drive and MicroSD cards have only hit mobile stores because, as Kumar points out, Indians are a mobile friendly lot (nearly 40 crore cell phone users) and change their handsets often. T-Series is steering clear of dedicated music stores because it doesn't want to land the customer in a dilemma. The pen drive and MSD card, priced at Rs 525 and Rs 475 respectively, would pale in comparison to a CD that costs just half that price. "At a mobile store, the customer comes in willing to spend at least Rs 4,000-Rs 5,000. So, he can be expected to shell out a bit more to pick up our pen drive," Kumar reasons.

An ivory white pen drive and a square pack displaying the movie's poster, is attractive all right, though Kumar would have liked to play around with the look. "We wanted to launch Blue's music as soon as possible. We could have done a number of things, maybe shaped the pen drive to suit the theme of the film. We can even make it look like a guitar for another album, but these things cost money." The basic hardware which is at the core of the equipment, we learn, costs Rs 265 per piece. With a 40% margin provided for retailers, hardly 10-15% is what T-Series keeps for itself. "As long as hardware prices don't drop, the price of the final product can't," he says.

Piracy is a concern, although they've decided to keep the pen drive free of a lock guard. It's also re-writable. Kumar says he didn't want to restrict his listeners in any way. "There's always an option to go online, download illegal music and burn it on a CD. Loyalists who'd like to own a branded T-Series CD, will go out and buy an authentic product. The same will be the case with the pen drive."

The pen drive and MSD cards have not been provided with a lock either, so that listeners who don't like a particular song, can upload other soundtracks. "Let's see what the response is like. We'll come up with the VRM protection at a later stage," Kumar says. As far as he's concerned, he enjoys listening to music while driving and got a pen drive jack fitted into his CD player recently.

Response to the new format has been encouraging, he reveals. T-Series launched 25,000 MSD cards and pen drives for Blue, and the demand, Kumar claims, has only grown. It will now be replicated for all their big releases including All The Best, Main Aur Mrs Khanna and London Dreams.

Would T-Series ever consider getting into the ringtone market, instead of going via a service provider? Kumar doesn't think so. "We have a wonderful association with Hungama Mobile. We've been working with them ever since the 'ringtone' fad hit the market," he says.

The music company plans to take these new formats to the devotional music sector too. Sampurn Ramayan will soon be available on a single pen drive or MSD card. "It's the best solution for those who hate changing 20 to 25 CDs. Continuous discourse what more could you want?" he asks with a smile.

And it doesn't stop here. Kumar hints at a new technology that the company is currently developing, one that's user-friendly. "I can't disclose too much right now except that it will make an appearance during our year-end release, 3 Idiots."

Blue pen drive Has a 2 GB memory (of this, 1 GB is free space)

For: Rs 525

7 songs from Blue

43 complementary tracks:

AR Rahman hits from Dilli 6, Ghajini, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Slumdog Millionaire and more

10 videos

5 screensavers

20 wallpapers and a Hungama My Mobile Application

Blue MSD card has a 2 GB memory (of this 1 GB is free space)

For: Rs 475

7 songs from Blue

43 complementary tracks: AR Rahman hits from Dilli 6, Ghajini, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Slumdog Millionaire and more

10 videos

10 animation formats

20 ringtones

5 mobile phone themes

20 wallpapers and a Hungama My Mobile Application

Source: Mid-day