This is an archive article published on February 3, 2018
Saregama cashes in on nostalgia and forgotten 40+ user with Carvaan music player
Carvaan, a music player packed with 5000 old movie songs and squarely targeting the mature, and nostalgic Indian user, seems to have become a bigger success than what Saregama had planned.
Saregama Carvaan, the retro-styled music player with stereo speakers hold a 5,000 evergreen old Hindi songs by the biggest names from Lata Mangeshkar to Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar.
Of late, on old retro-style radio has been making an appearance in households across India. The Saregama Carvaan, a music player packed with 5000 old movie songs and squarely targeting the mature, and nostalgic Indian user, seems to have become a bigger success than what Saregama had planned.
“Carvaan is a unique concept that is simple in its premise — a perfect marriage to digital technology,” Vikram Mehra, Managing Director, Saregama told indianexpress.com in an email interview. “Everything from its retro design, to its feature list and the selection of songs have earned it a place in people’s homes,” he added. Following the success of its Hindi offering, Saregama has already launched the Tamil version and is working on Bengali and Marathi variants.
According to the company’s internal sales figures, while 95,000 units were sold in July-September quarter, the number jumped to 132,000 in the next quarter. The company says sales of Carvaan and its variants have been steadily growing month on month thanks to this jukebox becoming a popular gifting option. Over 7000 retail outlets big and small are selling Carvaan music players across the country now and it is also available on all major e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart as well as Saregama.com.
The retro-styled music player with stereo speakers hold a 5,000 evergreen old Hindi songs by the biggest names from Lata Mangeshkar to Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar. The songs are pre-burned into the device and hence it does not need to go online to play its catalogue.
The product team started work in 2015 based on intensive research conducted across 23 cities of India, explained Mehra, adding that the company tested several prototypes, with different looks and features, before it settled for the current-generation model. The data analytics team was an integral part of the project and studied more than a 1400 million data points that it receives every month from all Saregama platforms to suggest which songs would be the part of the product. The content team curated the metadata for each and every one of these songs in order to classify them in the right sections. Once the final prototype design was zeroed in, its creative agency, The Womb, was briefed about the product.
Through the whole process, however, the target audience was clear: people above 40. “As our survey showed there was an ignored set of users above the age of 40 who wanted to consume their kind of music but in an easy, friendly and convenient manner without the trappings and complication of modern-day tech. So while most new products addressed the need of the millennials, we were confident that addressing the demand of the older generation would reap us good dividends,” said Mehra.
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This is also why Saregama will be in no rush to bring a “smart” variant of the Carvaan anytime soon to the market. Asked about the reason for not offering something similar to the Google Home or Amazon Echo, Mehra replied: “Carvaan is targeted towards older consumers unlike the other two products – something that we were clear from the very beginning and backed by our research findings. Carvaan was ideated to give a lean back experience to the audience and not a high involvement one. The product is all about nostalgia and is unique in its design and features.”
Anuj Bhatia is a seasoned personal technology writer at indianexpress.com with a career spanning over a decade. Active in the domain since 2011, he has established himself as a distinct voice in tech journalism, specializing in long-form narratives that bridge the gap between complex innovation and consumer lifestyle.
Experience & Career: Anuj has been a key contributor to The Indian Express since late 2016. Prior to his current tenure, he served as a Senior Tech Writer at My Mobile magazine and held a role as a reviewer and tech writer at Gizbot. His professional trajectory reflects a rigorous commitment to technology reporting, backed by a postgraduate degree from Banaras Hindu University.
Expertise & Focus Areas: Anuj’s reporting covers the spectrum of personal technology, characterized by a unique blend of modern analysis and historical context. His key focus areas include:
Core Technology: Comprehensive coverage of smartphones, personal computers, apps, and lifestyle tech.
Deep-Dive Narratives: Specializes in composing longer-form feature articles and explainers that explore the intersection of history, technology, and popular culture.
Global & Local Scope: Reports extensively on major international product launches from industry titans like Apple and Google, while simultaneously covering the ecosystem of indie and home-grown tech startups.
Niche Interests: A dedicated focus on vintage technology and retro gaming, offering readers a nostalgic yet analytical perspective on the evolution of tech.
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Anuj is a trusted voice in the industry, recognized for his ability to de-jargonize trending topics and provide context to rapid technological advancements. His authority is reinforced by his on-ground presence at major international tech conferences and his nuanced approach to product reviews. By balancing coverage of the world's most valuable tech brands with emerging startups, he offers a holistic and objective view of the global technology landscape.
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Saregama Carvaan, the retro-styled music player with stereo speakers hold a 5,000 evergreen old Hindi songs by the biggest names from Lata Mangeshkar to Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar.
