Mumbai: Zee Entertainment Enterprises is open to unlocking value in its music label business, Zee Music Company (ZMC), including through a potential demerger into a separate company and induction of a strategic partner, CEO Punit Goenka said during the company's Q4 earnings call on May 19.

"We certainly want to invest in the music business because that's the only way to keep broadening and going ahead. The question of unlocking value is always something that we keep considering all the time," Goenka said.

The comments signal Zee's willingness to evaluate options for its music business at a time when the company is increasingly betting on high-growth adjacencies such as over-the-top (OTT), music, studios and live events amid slowing growth in its core broadcasting business.

The company entered the music business through ZMC in 2014 and has built it from the ground up in a hypercompetitive market dominated by legacy Indian labels such as T-Series, Saregama and Tips Music, alongside India operations of global players including Sony Music, Universal Music and Warner Music. Goenka suggested Zee remains focused on scaling the business organically and sees room for growth before pursuing any major structural move.

"Compared to my competitors, we are still a very small player and we will keep investing and going ahead on that basis. But if opportunities come, why not? We will always evaluate and look at those," he noted.

A potential demerger or strategic investment could help Zee unlock value from a fast-growing asset at a time when its traditional television business is witnessing slower growth. "Profitability in the music business remains healthy and we continue to diversify our catalogue across additional language markets," said deputy CEO Mukund Galgali.

ZMC currently has 176 million subscribers on YouTube and 217 billion video views on the platform, backed by a catalogue of more than 20,000 songs. According to industry estimates, Zee generates upwards of Rs. 400 crore annually from its music business.

Listed music labels such as Saregama and Tips Music currently command market capitalizations in the range of Rs. 7,500 crore to Rs. 8,500 crore. Global labels such as Universal, Sony and Warner also see India as a key market due to its large digital user base and deep talent pool.

India is the world's 14th-largest market for recorded music, though it ranks second after the US in terms of total on-demand streaming, including audio and video. According to FICCI-EY, the Indian music industry generated Rs. 5,900 crore in revenue in 2025, driven by subscription and digital advertising growth, and is expected to rise to Rs. 7,500 crore by 2028 at a CAGR of 9%.

The industry has benefited significantly from growing smartphone penetration, cheaper internet access and rising consumption across audio and video streaming platforms, while gradually pivoting from an advertising-led free model to subscriptions.