India’s Saregama has put out an open call for emerging artists to rework songs from its retro Bollywood catalogue, with selected submissions eligible for release through a revenue-sharing deal.
The move follows the label’s recent success with composer Shashwat Sachdev‘s soundtrack for the first part of the spy thriller Dhurandhar. That score drew on reworkings, samples and interpolations of Hindi film music from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Participants are asked to choose a Saregama retro Bollywood song and apply one of several approaches:
- recreate
- remix
- sample
- flip
- break
- rebuild
Submissions should be sent to content@saregama.com. The label’s instruction to applicants states: “Don’t try to sound like the original. Make it sound like YOU,” adding that “great music doesn’t belong to one generation.”
Submissions involving “AI usage” will be disqualified. The restriction is notable because Saregama has begun using AI to create music videos for older tracks where it holds only audio rights. In both cases, the label is aiming to repackage catalogue music for younger listeners, who make up the bulk of streaming audiences. By excluding AI from the composition process, Saregama appears to distinguish between using the technology to market existing releases and using it to create new music.
