The City types know a thing or two about compound interest. Ilaiyaraaja, the Indian composer who turned 50 years of music into a global asset class, has just celebrated his half-century in the industry. But let’s not get misty-eyed.
This is about the bottom line. Over 7,000 songs, 1,500 films, and a symphony of transnational revenues. His model?
Arbitrage between ancient ragas and modern orchestration. He took the illiquid assets of folk melody and turned them into liquid gold. Government regulators in India have been trying to tax his output for years, but when you have that kind of intellectual property portfolio, you can afford the best accountants.
The real story here is about capital flight from the West to the East. Ilaiyaraaja’s music has been a reliable hedge against cultural inflation. For fifty years, he has delivered consistent returns.
No defaults. No restructuring. Just pure, unadulterated musical yield.
And unlike the gilt market, his works show no signs of quantitative easing. The man has done more for Indian cultural GDP than a dozen trade deals. So raise a glass of single malt.
To Ilaiyaraaja. The ultimate blue-chip composer.
