These channels have made advertising cost-effective for the music companies by reaching out to wider markets. They have also helped focus on the NRI market much better. The audio-visual alternative of communication was god-send for an industry which hitherto had largely confined itself to cold print.

The onslaught that the audio companies have mounted in this period has also seen piracy go on the backfoot. In fact, pirated music saw its marketshare decline from 47 per cent in 1991 to 29 per cent in 1998.

Music, from being an important element in marketing a movie has graduated to being a heavy profit centre. Gaining courage from this, some of the audio companies have forayed into production of music-oriented movies.

Meanwhile, other genres of music are also on the rise, albeit rather clumsily, and with some amount of audience rejection. Overall, the charm of the business sustains.

The distribution system is the weak link as far as the companies go. Handled by a clutch of people, it is the most profitable business, taking away the cream from returns just on the strength of a well-spread network (geographically).

Duplication would be futile, if not self-defeating. Value of distribution lies in the fact that new album sales are highly time-sensitive. A cassette may not be perishable, but appeal of the music is. Stocks must reach the selling point in time. Better late than never does not work.

One diversification step to this distribution network are the music stores. An expensive investment, it has its uses since it helps assess customer reaction instantly and is a great forum for artiste recognition.

The impact of on-line music is dismissed as negligible. But, given the fact that most of what the Internet has to offer to browsers has come to Indians after trial and error, the impact could be extremely intense.