What started as an advertising agency about 30 years back, Percept has now emerged as a media conglomerate with business interests ranging across media, communications and entertainment, all of this under the leadership of Shailendra Singh. Singh has been a pioneer who has taken dance music to a new high by bringing world renowned djs to perform all over the country.

In an exclusive chat at a Sunburn event in Mumbai, we speak to him about his love for music, his take what Sunburn means to him and much more.

What makes you want to bring dance music to India?

Dance music has no lyrics, only energy. It’s commonsense. The genre that we selected was done scientifically but the product that we created for the fans is all heart. There is no economics and no science in it. We compromise on money every day to assure safety standards. We go ballistic. We have 4632 people in the whole season of Sunburn. Nobody understands it. It’s a serious business. Music tourism worldwide is a respected industry. Like Sports tourism. But nobody yet understands in India that music can be a business. It’s like hosting the World Cup, we could have got 5 million tourists to Mumbai, but we did nothing.

As per a study, EDM is catching up in tier 2 cities as well. Do you think this is true?

EDM has been in tier 2 cities for 3 years .We do 80 shows a year, some of them in Nagpur, Hubli, Vishakhapatnam, Indore, Bhopal etc. What’s catching up is the evolution of the digital domain which allows a person in Nagpur to be at par with you and me, his lifestyle, his knowledge, almost everything. There is no difference in the New India. We are the Unites States of India. The guy in Ludhiana is no different from the guy in Mumbai.

What are the future plans of Percept now? We have seen it being linked to very big events. Say for the next 5 years.

Percept Life, the division where Sunburn is has taught me something edgy and innovative which has no federation written all over it and no politics. So I will say new experiences that are not run or dominated by the existing system.

How difficult is it to get companies to sponsor events like EDM?

You need balls and brains. We could give you an answer on an excel sheet regarding mindshare and ROI but you need imagination. Mr. Munjal of Hero walked into a concert by mistake and he said what the hell is this. I said this is New India but if you keep playing golf you are never going to meet these guys. It’s about the whole approach of believing in what you are creating and the skill set to sell it. I don’t believe in the science of ROI (Return on Investment) and crap. What are you talking about? Why did a big brand put so much money in the Champions league? Big brands sponsored Corporate Premier League which got shut down in one season. They keep trying hockey. “Jeeto ...Dil de doh, dil de doh”.

Are you playing in North India?

We played 6 times in Noida, Chandigarh, all over the North. North is big for us. We are selling space surrounding Delhi. East is one market that we have been ignoring. East is not pulling us there.

You’ve had shows in Delhi and Mumbai. Do you find a difference in the crowds, the energy levels?

This crowd here is semi-pretentious. They think “Should I raise my hand now or only when Hardwell comes”. Bangalore is raw but ninety percent men. I don’t know if there are girls in Bangalore (laughs). Maybe girls couldn’t reach the venue. Delhi is very refreshing and surprising. There were people from sixteen countries. A lot of expats. The crowd was brilliant. Flags came out of different countries. Sri Lankan, Indian, Australian flags were around. They were out to have a good time. With regard to tier two cities we realized that not everybody can come to Mumbai and Goa. We lose money on them. We do thirty- eight free campus shows.

So you achieved break even in two to three years?

We achieved break even in year five. The problem is I am indulgent. I spend a lot of money on experiences. My festivals don’t make money. I make money in Arena. But f@#k making money. Let Anil Ambani make money. I lost a lot of money. I made seventy five feature films. My studio used to make one film a month. Now I make one film a year. Why? I lost money……..140 crores. Get real it’s very tough. But it’s fun. We go there and see 30,000 people jumping. You can’t get that experience by making natural gas.

Could you name the lineup of artistes, maybe some that you haven’t mentioned before?

I can’t divulge that information but all I can say is that the Mumbai lineup is more powerful than Goa. The festival is in a forest I call the Electric forest, a beautiful location. Bombay and Bangalore are very powerful.

How are you taking this globally?

IPL and Sunburn. Feel really proud that we have now created a brand that is first in Asia and fourth in the world. Now we are going to Dubai, Sri Lanka, Malaysia we are now exporting Sunburn. That is super cool.

Interviewed by Verus Ferreira