Saregama, India’s oldest label, is using AI to make music videos for songs whose visuals it never owned – and refresh its catalog for Gen Z
Saregama, India's oldest record label, is using generative AI to create new music videos for older songs in its catalogue where it holds the recording and composition rights but never owned the original film footage. Managing Director Vikram Mehra explained that videos for many 1960s and 1970s film songs were never made or sold to labels, leaving a gap in Saregama's back catalogue that AI can now fill cheaply, potentially opening up commercial opportunities that previously did not exist.
Mehra said an AI-generated video could cost as little as INR 70,000 (around $740), making the approach viable for the first time. The strategy targets two audiences: refreshed, contemporary-looking videos with original audio for older listeners, and reworked audio with new instrumentation and visuals to appeal to Gen Z. Saregama is also experimenting with AI-assisted podcasts built around its songs, while maintaining that it opposes unlicensed use of its music by AI tools. The label's catalogue spans roughly 180,000 songs, with 60% of its 2026 fiscal year music revenue coming from post-2000 releases.
In short
- Saregama uses AI to make videos for old songs lacking original footage
- Cheap AI videos, from around $740, target both older and Gen Z fans
- Label also testing AI podcasts while opposing unlicensed AI music use
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The case for
Saregama legitimately owns the recording and composition rights to these songs, yet the original film footage was either never created or never transferred to the label, leaving a gap in their commercial catalogue. Using AI to generate visuals is a rational deployment of technology to unlock value from music they rightfully own, creating modern versions that allow contemporary audiences—particularly Gen Z—to engage with classic Indian musical compositions. This approach is entirely within their legal rights and represents an efficient, economically viable alternative to leaving valuable IP dormant.
The case against
Generative AI models are typically trained on vast amounts of existing creative work, potentially including copyrighted material without proper compensation to original artists and creators. Beyond questions of training data provenance, there are deeper concerns about authenticity and artistic representation: algorithmically-generated visuals may fail to honour the original artistic vision of composers and performers, reducing human creativity to a mechanical process. Additionally, this strategy may displace human creators in music video and film industries, whilst raising philosophical questions about the appropriateness of recreating historical artistic works through AI, even when the legal ownership of the underlying music is clear.
Explained simply
Saregama is a major Indian music company with a catalogue of about 180,000 songs. Many older songs were made for films in the 1960s and 1970s, but record labels often received rights to the sound recording and composition without owning the film footage, leaving them unable to make official videos from the original scenes.
Generative AI can create new visuals to accompany those recordings, at a cost Saregama says is now low enough to make the work practical. The company is also exploring new arrangements and podcasts based on its songs, while opposing AI tools using its music without permission.
The effort reflects a wider challenge for music companies: finding new audiences and uses for older catalogues. Saregama says 60% of its music revenue in the 2026 financial year came from releases after 2000, making younger listeners one potential audience for refreshed older material.
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