Magnasound was an Indian record company that specialized in
Indian classical music
Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ''Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...
,
Indian rock
Indian rock is a music genre in India that may incorporate elements of Indian music with rock music, and is often topically India-centric. While India is more often known for its ( northern and southern) classical music, filmi, Bollywood ...
and
Indipop
Indian pop music, also known as Indi-pop, refers to pop music produced in India that is independent from filmi soundtracks for Indian cinema, such as the music of Bollywood, which tends to be more popular. Indian pop is closely linked to Bollyw ...
. It was distributed by OMI Music Inc. Shashi Gopal was the
managing director
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...
of Magnasound.
History
Shashi Gopal founded Magnasound in 1989 with his wife Kalpana and brother-in-law Madhav Das.
The three launched the company with their life savings, which totaled Rs 6 lakhs. In the early 1990s, the company gained a reputation for signing young artists like
Daler Mehndi
Daler Singh (born 18 August 1967), better known as Daler Mehndi, is an Indian singer, songwriter, author, and record producer. He has helped to make Bhangra popular worldwide, as well as Indian pop music independent of Bollywood music. He is ...
,
Baba Sehgal, and
Alisha Chinai
Alisha Chinai (born 18 March 1965) is an Indian pop singer known for her Indi-pop albums as well as playback singing in Hindi cinema. She began her singing career with the album ''Jadoo'' in 1985, and by the 1990s she had become known as the 'Qu ...
, as well as acclaimed rock bands
Rock Machine and
13AD Already established artists like
A. R. Rahman and
Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur
and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...
also released albums for the label. Magnasound began to concentrate more on classical artists.
Carnatic vocalist
Bombay Jayashri became its flagship classical artist when she signed with Magnasound in 1994. Magnasound was also one of the first Indian labels to concentrate on music videos, taking advantage of the new MTV India channel.
In 2003, the company was declared bankrupt and was defunct.
Bayshore
After Magnasound wound up in 2003, Madhav launched another label called Bayshore Music before he moved to print and edited a film magazine called South Side, for
GV Films.
Notable artists
*
Alisha Chinai
Alisha Chinai (born 18 March 1965) is an Indian pop singer known for her Indi-pop albums as well as playback singing in Hindi cinema. She began her singing career with the album ''Jadoo'' in 1985, and by the 1990s she had become known as the 'Qu ...
*
Baba Sehgal
*
Bela Shende
Bela Shende is an Indian playback singer. She performed several songs in Bollywood and regional films. "Mann Mohana" from the film ''Jodhaa Akbar'', "Su Che" from the film ''What's Your Raashee?'', "Wajle Ki Baara" and "Apsara Aali" from ''Nata ...
*
Bhitali Das
*
Bina Mistry
*
Bombay Jayashri
*
Hema Sardesai
Hema Sardesai, also known as Hemaa Sardesai, is an Indian playback singer and lyricist. Hema hails from the coastal state of Goa, in India, and was born in Mumbai. She shot to fame in 1997 with songs from movies like '' Sapnay, Biwi No. 1'' ...
*
Mehnaz Hoosein
*
Raageshwari
*
Sagarika Mukherjee
*
Shantanu Mukherjee
*
Shweta Mohan
Shweta Mohan (born 19 November 1985) is an Indian playback singer. She has received four Filmfare Awards South for Best Female Playback Singer, one Kerala State Film Award and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award. She has recorded more than 700
s ...
*
Shweta Shetty
Shweta Shetty (also known as Shwetaa in nickname) is an Indian pop singer known for her albums and for her contributions to Bollywood film soundtracks. Her most remix hit song is "Q-Funk" from the album ''Oorja'' in 1995.
Life and career
Shet ...
*
Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian singer, music director and actor. He has been described in the media as one of the most popular and successful playback singers of Hindi Cinema and Kannada Cinema. He has been honoured by the Gover ...
*
Suchitra Krishnamoorti
Suchitra Krishnamoorthi is an Indian actress, model and singer known for her works in Hindi cinema, South cinema, and Television.
Early life
Suchitra was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra into a Telugu speaking family to V. Krishnamoorthi, former co ...
*
Suchitra Pillai
Suchitra Pillai (born 27 August 1970) is an Indian actress, model, anchor and VJ. A graduate in electronic engineering, she chose a career in arts over engineering. Apart from roles in movies including ''Dil Chahta Hai'' (2001), ''Page 3'' ( ...
*
Zubeen Garg
Zubeen Garg (born Zubeen Borthakur; 18 November 1972) is an Indian singer, music director, composer, lyricist, music producer, actor, film director, film producer, script writer and philanthropist. He primarily works for and sings in the Assam ...
References
Indian record labels
Record labels established in 1989
Record labels disestablished in 2003
Defunct companies of India
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