MxMIndia

Tag: Farhad Wadia

  • Farhad Wadia is the moving force and the long time promoter of the Independence Rock Festival, which was organized annually on our Independence Day in Mumbai for the last 27 years

    I-Rock to make comeback

    By A Correspondent

     

    Fourth Dimension Media Solutions and Farhad Wadia have joined hands to bring back Independence Rock – India’s oldest Rock Festival.

     

    Fourth Dimension Media solutions, the Chennai based media outsourcing company with a national presence operates with offices in Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. Shankar, CEO of Fourth Dimension has also been a part of Farhad Wadia’s team during his stint in E18.

     

    Shankar

    Speaking on the event, Shankar says, “I have been a part of I Rock for two years and have successfully done shows like Jethro Tull Anoushka Shankar, Tribute to 26/11 victims and also Bacardi Blast In Goa in Dec 2009. I have also done an event for Jim Beam at Hard Rock Cafe in Mumbai apart from tribute to Rolling Stones and scorpions in Chennai in October 2014.”

     

    Farhad Wadia is the moving force and the long time promoter of the Independence Rock Festival, which was organised annually on our Independence Day in Mumbai for the last 27 years. Besides that he has spent over 30 years in the media and entertainment industry and has vast experience in managing radio, TV, print, brand solutions and luxury retail businesses in India, the UAE and now in the USA where he is based out of Austin Texas. Some of the companies he has worked with in the past include HT Media, Channel 4 Networks UAE, Power Productions and Radio Star India and now he is the CEO of Samuels Jewelers in the USA wherein he runs four chains of a 108 specialty jewelry stores.

     

    Independence Rock is the biggest platform for Rock Bands in India and has been the cradle and barometer of the Indian Rock music scene. Independence Rock has been committed to promoting Independent music and artists, and has given them a platform and promoted Indian artists, encouraged them and has matched their stoic perseverance with steadfast confidence in their talent. Today, these artists have found recognition on a national level and their pertinacity has brought them strong following across the nation.

     

    The finals of I-Rock will be in Mumbai in the last week of August and this year one can witness the best of rock bands from abroad headlining the festival.

     

  • …but he will continue to do Independence Rock even as he joins the Capricorn Group which is essentially into real estate and hotels

    Farhad Wadia exits media, joins real estate

    By A Correspondent

     

    The man who introduced Independence Rock in the country, much much ahead of the likes of Sunburn, NH7 etc is disillusioned with the live acts business. “There’s no money in it… the newer players have messed up the business model with very low margins,” rues Farhad Wadia who quit Network 18 last month to join the Capricorn Group as Senior VP, Marketing and Sales.

     

    It’s crossing over to another industry altogether, Mr Wadia admits, but added that companies in the business of live events need to relook at their P/Ls. “Only Sunburn is making money and that too after going through losses for the first two-three years,” he explains. According to Mr Wadia, while keeping sponsors happy is fine, live act companies are selling the sponsorships very cheap making the business unviable.

     

    Mr Wadia joined the Network 18/TV 18 group in 2007 after a two-year stint with Hindustan Times. He has also worked with Channel 4 Networks in the UAE, his own company Power Productions and the now defunct Radio Star India.

     

    What Farhad Wadia is best known for though is Independence Rock, a 28-year-old live music acts property, that didn’t happen last year due to sponsorship issues but will definitely take place this year, the showman promises.

     

    Meanwhile, at Capricorn, which has a lot of real estate and runs some hotels (like in Pune, the Courtyard Marriott and Regency on Dhole Patil Road),  he hopes to use his sales and marketing expertise in selling dream, er, properties.