“We are very openly saying we know this business better than you” : Vijay Subramaniam of Collective Artists Network

A rocker by choice and now a well-known figure in the talent management space, Subramaniam values authenticity, wants to empower creators to earn their livelihoods through content, and has a sharp instinct for evolving marketing strategies 

Vijay Subramaniam’s office walls are covered with posters of Metallica as well as those of Synaps—an erstwhile alternative rock band he was part of since its inception in 2000. It is a reflection of his past as the rocker who notably headlined for heavy metal band Iron Maiden’s concert in Bangalore in 2009. 

His desk is devoid of the usual clutter you’d otherwise expect from a busy CEO—one who leads a 400-strong workforce that, in turn, manages some of the biggest talents in India. During the brief 30-minute conversation The Established had with him, Subramaniam displays a subtle yet telling habit: he methodically winds his iPhone charger wire, a gesture reflecting an underlying penchant for order and precision—skills that are undoubtedly instrumental in his leadership of the Collective Artists Network, or simply, ‘Collective’.

Expanding the talent ecosystem 

Subramaniam is the Group CEO and founder of Collective Artists Network—an organisation that not just manages talent but also creates a thriving ecosystem for it in India. It represents an array of categories, a testament to his vision of nurturing a wide spectrum of creative individuals including actors, musicians, influencers, and content creators—from Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone to Bhuvan Bam and Pritam and Divine. The challenge of catering to the burgeoning demand for content creators and talent would be a significant one, but it’s easy for him, says Subramaniam; lessons from his music days come handy. “I have run a band. You can’t play together in a group of five very diverse people for 10 years, create music every single day of your life, and perform over 600-700 shows. You can’t do it if you are not emotionally invested [in it],” he says.  

The roots of his success lie in his upbringing as an army kid who moved from one cantonment to another across India as he watched his father deeply involved in the lives and welfare of the soldiers he commanded. “Right since my teenage years I’ve been bred for that,” he says. 

Subramaniam’s ambition is not limited to a single aspect of the creative industry. “The key word is ‘we are not one thing’.” Launched in 2009, Subramaniam has pivoted Collective from managing Bollywood actors and representing film directors to nurturing content creators. His overarching vision is for his enterprise to become the equivalent of say, a Reliance in the talent agency sector. “I am not the guy on stage anymore, I want to be the reason for other people to be on stage and the stage today is Instagram. It could also be the OTT platforms, that stage could be cinema,” he says.

But what sparked this pivot? “For celebrity clients, the idea was to expand the ecosystem,” one where Collective helps them market—from investments to starting a brand, to creating a production house. “Industries aren’t built on mom-and-pop shops, they are built on institutions. I don’t think we had an institution of this in this genre of business and, for me, I had to shed old skin to do that.”

When content creation is king 

In The State of Digital Marketing In India 2023-24, Deepak H from Strategy3—a division of Ipsos Mori—observes a rapid growth in digital media, expanding at an annual rate of 30 per cent. This growth trajectory suggests digital media might surpass television by 2024. 

India's vast Internet user base, which stands at approximately 692.0 million, largely engages with digital content for entertainment, accounting for 85 per cent of the users. This significant engagement highlights the enormous potential for content creation. Ipsos Mori's report further details that India is home to roughly 2.2 to 2.5 million influencers. Notably, about 65 per cent of the country's 470 million social media users follow at least one influencer. In the digital market space, YouTube and Instagram are major players, commanding 38 per cent and 11 per cent of the market share respectively. 

Subramaniam articulates a nuanced understanding of the organic rise of content creators, viewing it as a fundamental expression of universal desires and aspirations. Their need for a sense of validation is one where they seek to combine financial success with fame, driven by a desire for public admiration.  

He illustrates his point with the case of Bhuvam Bam, a renowned YouTube artist. By featuring Bam on the show Taaza Khabar on Disney+ Hotstar, Collective enabled him to instantly access an audience of 45 million paying subscribers. “If you are a content creator, you like fame. You like being in the public eye,” says Subramaniam. 

Bringing value to the table 

At the same time, the agency must collaborate with the right creators, a process streamlined through technological platforms. Collective recently discovered Rapper Big Deal (Samir Rishu Mohanty) from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, propelling him to fame with a brand endorsement deal, an opening act for the Hockey World Cup, and a limited-edition merchandise line with an in-house brand, Kra, creating a significant buzz around him.

If creating art is about exhibition, Collective's holistic approach is to nurture content creators by addressing their practical necessities through PR, positioning advice, and financial needs through monetisation. 

For Subramaniam, the objective is straightforward: to empower creators to earn a livelihood through their creative work. His approach is twofold. Firstly, as he puts it, “to create this industry of employment for people to build lives.” Secondly, he aims to assist half a million individuals in securing jobs in content creation within the next five years. Subramaniam emphasises, “I want to make sure you get your job, I want to make sure that I create that opportunity, that will help us enable real value.” However, a lack of upskilling poses a potential challenge. “If you are a gym instructor, you need to invest in knowing the latest trends in fitness, if you are a finance guy, you need to read about the markets every day. If you are a creator, you need to know how you are bettering your content,” he explains.

Subramaniam is committed to actualising his vision by creating a thorough support system, an all-inclusive ecosystem tailored for his clients. This framework is built on Collective's key strategies of collaboration, innovation, and strategic acquisitions, supplemented by a learning module designed to enhance the quality of content produced by creators. Among these collaborations are the tech platform Comscore and the strategic acquisition of Under 25 Universe—a pioneering learning technology company that offers students opportunities and support within the creator ecosystem, along with its Under 25 Summit. 

Earlier this year, Collective also launched the influencer platform BigBang.Social—a comprehensive super-app crafted to assist brands in various aspects, encompassing the discovery, curation, and customisation of campaigns.

However, it’s Subramaniam’s partnership with Nikhil Kamath and Abhijeet Pai, the founders of Gruhas, that represents a ground-breaking union of media, entertainment, and venture capital within India, bringing together industry leaders. Together, they have launched a fund aimed at supporting and empowering emerging entrepreneurs and start-ups in the consumer sector.

Differentiating the creator economy from influencer marketing

A common misconception that holds back the growth of this industry is the confusion between creator economy and influencer marketing—they are not the same. Subramaniam expresses his concern about the potential commoditisation of creators, which he views as a threat. “The advantage you have working with people in the media is that you run the risk of commoditisation,” he observes. Further elaborating on the prevailing marketing dynamics, he says, “Today you are posting for X, tomorrow for somebody else, there is no real differentiation.” Even the media’s narrative of content creators has thus far only focused on the prism of influencer marketing.

The scope of brand marketing is multi-layered, with each specialised function for a specific requirement. For example, events, media and PR agencies are all used to their specific needs. “It’s exactly like media buying; you won’t use a creative agency for that,” he adds, stating that there is a difference between a creator agency—which is what Collective is—and a creative agency. According to Subramaniam, brands must recognise that their current network of advisors may not be equipped to guide them with social media. “I don’t know anything about buying a television spot but for hell I know something much better about how to build a narrative through a creator than any of your guys advising you,” he says. 

Subramaniam notes that there’s a need to unlearn old marketing strategies. He sees the industry structure in a more nuanced, funnel-like approach, stating that start-ups tend to engage with creators more frequently due to their limited budgets, and that their goal is to get conversions. This approach, however, carries the risk of commoditisation, underscoring the necessity for appropriate strategic advising. As for family-run businesses, in particular, he says that they should recognise that content creators represent a new paradigm in the media.  

When it comes to multinational corporations, it is unrealistic to expect a successful sale of, say, a cold cream from a Fortune-500 company simply because a creator endorses it. Instead, enhancing brand sentiment requires targeted advisory, which is precisely where BigBang. Social and Collective are stepping in to make a difference. “We are very openly saying we know this business better than you.” 

In this context, data emerges as a pivotal factor in the industry. BigBang. Social recently formed a partnership with Comscore, a media measurement and analytics company that aims to optimise the synergy between creators and brands. The advanced AI-backed creator and content recommendation engines of BigBang.Social, in conjunction with Comscore’s capabilities, enable both creators and brands to comprehensively assess potential risks and rewards before initiating any collaboration. This approach ensures a more strategic and mutually beneficial engagement between the two parties. 

However, the focus of investment is likely to shift from traditional advertising methods, such as billboards, to new-age creators. It's unlikely that funds will be diverted from paying for Bollywood towards content creators. Although superstardom has transformed, that hasn’t stopped the audience from going for films, notes Subramaniam. “You can give me all the snacks in the world, but give me a film on the big screen and I want to see it.” Essentially, those who have the funds to invest in Bollywood will continue to do so.

Going beyond advertising

But the trend of employing content creators purely as advertising instruments is likely to diminish over time, notes Subramaniam. He foresees the emergence of creator commerce, live commerce, and affiliate commerce as powerful channels poised to generate billions of dollars in the market. “When commerce gets unlocked, that's billions of dollars. I think you’ll have a version of [Jessica Alba’s] The Honest Company or [Dwayne Johnson’s] Project Rock [with Under Armour],” he elaborates. This development, he believes, will lead to more substantial and impactful dialogues within the industry, and the emergence of creators whose value reaches the million-dollar mark. Subramaniam's primary goal is to determine the most effective ways to cultivate as many million-dollar creators as possible. 

India’s content creation market is estimated to double over the next five years, increasing rapidly from US$250 billion to US$480 billion by 2027, as per Goldman Sachs’ research. This doesn’t account for the unorganised sector of content creators, and a large pool of talent still remains undiscovered. The notion of the creator economy has evolved to a point where it seems like everyone is considered a creator, but that's not quite accurate. To generate higher advertising revenue, platforms require superior content. They have the distribution network and the creators, but attracting advertisers hinges on the quality of the content, explains Subramaniam. This necessitates having more skilled creators which, in turn, requires investment in their upskilling and providing them with the right tools. Here, Collective comes in, identifying a fresh user base for mega-platforms like Meta. This then leads to improved advertising opportunities for the creators and, ultimately, everyone involved. “My core motto is to empower creators to earn a living by creating,” says Subramaniam.  

Collective has some big plans in the pipeline—their vision for expansion encompasses not only the West but also extends to the East and the Middle East. As we wrap up the meeting, Subramaniam talks about his upcoming trip to Dubai. “Hopefully the next time I sit with you for an interview, I will have some tangible outcomes,” he signs off.

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