By Robin Sam
December 23, 2009 | 04:39:23

OUT of the three players who dominate the Christian music industry in India by turns, Sitara Music has been one of the youngest. While GMFA was set up in 1977, OM entered the music scene in India in the mid-nineties. Sitara Music founded in 1995 by Isaac Manogarom started small. But God who does not despise humble beginnings helped it grow. Today, 14 years after it started, Sitara Music India distributes for renowned music label EMI CMG besides Cloud Ten Pictures, Whole World Media Group, Ken Anderson Films and Christiano Films. Though three years ago, Sitara hit a rough patch it soared up like an eagle. THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER spoke to Sitara Music’s managing director Isaac Manogarom to find out what effected the transformation. Excerpts from the interview:

 

How does Sitara Music compare with GMFA and OM Authentic Music India in terms of volume of sales and titles?

 

We are among the three major players in India. We always compete between the first and the second. One thing I have realized over the years is that it is God who brings growth and you have no part in it. That realization helps us to be humble. We have a small role to play but we remain pragmatic about it and don’t take things to heart. However, when guys position us, they think we are a huge company.

 

Sitara has been in business for close to 15 years now. What have been some of the key lessons learnt in all these years?

 

That you need to have an open mind is one of the key lessons. I have never hesitated to reach out and ask for help in an area where I was inadequate. If we are not doing well as we ought to, we identify and acknowledge the problem, find its extent and quickly try to resolve it. I won’t say we have been doing this right from the start of our business but this has been especially so since the last four or five years of our business. And I owe the success to my team. Most of the guys who work for us have been with us for over eight or nine years, so they know me and the business pretty well.

 

Finding the right guys at the right time is also the key to success. How have you managed to retain good talent in the industry?

 

Honestly, it is not something that we do. At Sitara, we have a very informal relationship. I am a friend to them first. When it comes to work as long as the task is accomplished, they have nothing to worry about. It is also about finding what each one of your employees is capable of doing and what you want out of them. That way, you give them the freedom and the authority required to do the job and hold them accountable at the same time.

 

Has there been any visible change in the way you conduct business over the years?

 

We moved from the analogue age to the digital age. Things are so much easier now. Fourteen years ago when we started, the challenge was at the systems change level. The US of America was on NTSC (National Television System Committee) while India was on PAL (Phase Alternating Line). A lot of money was then spent on getting the products formatted. Over the years, we have moved from audio to CD, video cassette to VCD, and from VCD to DVD. Now we are moving away from DVD to Blu-Ray disc. That’s how rapidly things have changed. At the same time, we are excited about digital downloads. The whole industry is moving towards that. However, since our market is so huge and we are comfortable with the conventional consumption of these resources we should take it slow and easy with the new initiatives.

 

What strategy did you adopt to reach this level of success?

 

It’s been amazing to see how God has sustained us over the years. Several players who emerged as competitors went out of business. YWAM Music, Vineyard Music GenX Entertainment among others came with big branding and fanfare. Our strategy has been to grow small and qualitatively and keep doing what we were doing over and over again. When we started, we were known as a Vineyard label, then Gaither happened but now we are venturing into new areas – the children’s segment is an area where we have grown. We have also discovered the potential of the Tamil movies segment. We are dubbing quality Christian films produced to international standards into Tamil.

 

Sometime ago, Sitara Music was down in the dumps. Looking back on it now, what do you think went wrong?

 

It was three years ago – the year I was traveling a lot. In the bargain what I didn’t realize was that things had gone out of control. That I didn’t have a strong second line of leadership added to our worries. Secondly, my spiritual life was at its lowest. So I devised strategies and did everything that a worldly person would do. However, the more I planned, the worse things became. It was then that I asked a Christian businessman friend of mine, Jim Sanjay (Shepherd India), to help me out of the mess. Jim brought in a new flavor to the business, he really stood with me and acted on my behalf. He came in, put a stop to my travel plans and started straightening things out. The business was bleeding profusely then. That was also the time my wife Tara and I had finished building our house. That took a toll on the business not immediately but eight months later when the sales dipped. The Lord showed me how we had reached the doldrums: It was back-to-back travel, the expenses incurred in building our house and a setback in my own spiritual life.

 

What went wrong in your spiritual life?

 

I was cold. I didn’t see Sitara Music as a ministry any more. It became purely a business. I was work-driven and strived to achieve my targets. It didn’t happen overnight. My relationship with the Lord was going cold. I knew I was going down the drain. Then, I had relationship issues. There were problems on the home front. At that time, my relationship with Tara took a beating too.

 

What did Jim Sanjay bring to the table? How did he set things right?

 

Jim was loving and yet firm with people. He took some drastic decisions and brought in a new perspective on things. The important discovery he made about our business was when he looked at our balance sheet. He discovered that there was no room for tithing as a company. He turned to me and said, ‘Boss, God is not going to bless your business until you start tithing as a company.’ Personally, we were doing it but we didn’t know we had to do it as a company as well. He told us a percentage of the profits that we make had to be set apart as first fruits for the Lord. That was the breakthrough for us. Once we did that, slowly things started looking up. But to this day, it’s always a challenge to set aside the first fruits for the Lord.

 

How does being a Christian and being in the business go together?

 

There’s a dichotomy there. There are times when I think, I am a businessman hence I can do this. There are times when the ministry aspect of my personality gets on top. But then over the years, I have realized it doesn’t matter who you are, you are God’s steward. So, I don’t bite more than I can chew. Sometimes greed can come wearing many masks but then you got to know your strengths before you venture into anything. As Freedom Ministries India director, when I organized the Neil Anderson seminar our budget was Rs.8.5 lakh. We didn’t have one rupee of it in our hands but I knew God will bring in every rupee of it and He did! How He brings it each time is amazing.

 

Sitara Music India Private Limited is located at I-48, Anna Nagar East, Chennai 600102. India. Ph: +91-44-26261476, 26194248.

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