Urvesh Vasani , Six Inch Nails Group, a 15 year old entrepreneur in heavy metal and publishing

Heavy Metal music and Publishing make for strange bedfellows. Stranger still if that is the focus of your entrepreneurial venture in a place like India. But the cherry on the cake is that this Heavy metal cum publishing venture is owned and founded by a 13 year old. Urvesh Vasani conceived and founded the Six Inch Nails Group in 2009. Despite his youthful status Urvesh has a clear defined entrepreneurial agenda far ahead of his years and is looking to capture the big time pretty soon.YourStory spoke to Urvesh on why he went into heavy metal and what entrepreneurship means to someone so young.

What is the Six Inch Nails Group ?

A young company, formed into a group, which likes to keep it cool.

Owned by a teen & well received by the world.

Looking to do new things and learn as we go.

How is Six Inch Nails Group different from other record labels or e-publishers?

Six Inch Nails Records (SINR) accepts talent from all around the world, unlike most of the labels which concentrate mainly on the local scene. We have got a wide range of styles in heavy metal, unlike some labels which are looking for only a particular sub-genre.

The new baby, Six Inch Nails Publishing (SINP), offers quality electronic publishing services with reasonable costs to be recovered from e-book sales. We are working to convince new, first time authors to go for e-publishing, offering them a platform to go worldwide through our marketing network. Our first e-book is being launched around 15-20^th April 2011 worldwide so watch out: the “first look” should be out soon on our website.

How did you conceive the idea behind Six Inch Nails? Why did you choose this name for your company ?

Six Inch Nails was formed back in August 2009 when I was 13, not many may know but I had a small podcast of mine at the age of 12 showcasing local talent and that’s when I felt the urge to record and put my own compositions on a CD. So I looked up the internet about record labels, I found the business so interesting that I started a label rather than looking for one. The name is one funny story, it was when we had carpentry work going on at home and the carpenters were looking for long, six-inch nails. The name kept ringing in my head and that was it! I have never felt like changing the name since then.

Tell us more about your interests and pursuits

I live in Mumbai, live with my parents and my brother. I have gone through various phases/passions; right from Kung-Fu to wrestling, from cricket to music and golf. I learnt how to play the guitar from a teacher and online. I have also won an electric guitar in a contest by MTV/VH1 back in 2009.

Recently, I am done with my University of Cambridge International Examinations’ IGCSEs (10^th standard) and would be starting with my A-Levels (11^th and 12^th) soon.

Do you have any tie-ups? Are your chosen music genres gaining acceptance?

We don’t have any tie-ups as of now. As far as the concept of heavy metal is concerned, it is still one of the lesser known music genres in India, even in cities like Mumbai. However, there is a population of die-hard fans around the country who are trying their best to promote this kind of music. In my own family, I was the only one who enjoyed this kind of music. Whereas my parents just wondered what I was doing in my room with loud music. My brother, who didn’t really enjoy this music, is now a fan of it too. In the same way (I feel) that the concept of heavy metal would be recognized by India, like the other countries.

What trends do you foresee for record labels, e-publishing and the Six Inch Nails Group?

E-Publishing is here to stay and to grow even further. Everything is turning digital, be it letters to e-mails or books to e-books. E-publishing has got lots of advantages, it saves paper, doesn't cost a lot for authors to publish and it also fits into your pocket as most of the smart phones today are used as e-book readers and new devices are launched for e-book reading.

Record labels I feel, like everything else, will be going digital. With the setting up of distribution services like iTunes, Amazon MP3, Spotify etc. most of the labels will be going for digital distribution. However, there is still a great population of music fans which enjoy collecting CDs rather than downloading music, which I feel will keep the music CD industry alive and kicking.

Six Inch Nails Group hopefully should be a 7 figure business by then. With increased quality of service and goods I hope to expand the company in terms of revenues, employees and more.

7) How does the Six Inch Nails Group generate revenue?

Six Inch Nails Records generates revenue from retail and wholesale of music CDs launched by SINR and also from the ones imported/distributed by us.

Six Inch Nails Publishing’s revenue model would be: sales of new e-books published and marketed by SINP ; converting and marketing old, already published books, into e-books.

As a young entrepreneur, what motivates and challenges you?

There are a number of joys I have, being an entrepreneur. The best is the joy of learning something new every day. Getting known as a young entrepreneur, owning a well-known business and making money are other things which keep me motivated to do and LOVE what I’m doing.

Facing challenges has now become a part of the ‘everyday me’, there’s a new challenge every day. Be it small, or big - thought must be given into getting over each of them. For instance, back in early 2010 when I needed a website for my record label, I could not afford to hire a developer to design and maintain my website. Hence, I learnt web-designing and it’s other aspects on my own. I designed and developed the site on my own and since then the Six Inch Nails website is maintained by me. Challenges come in the form of anything, the biggest and the most interesting ones are the ones related to finances and costing. Others would be – production faults, marketing obstacles, sales charts, public/business relations etc.

How big is the Six Inch Nails team? Are you looking at hiring?

The Six Inch Nails Group team is quite small at the moment with just 3 employees to help with sales, marketing, graphics and other small petty actions that the business demands. Yes of course, I am looking at hiring very soon once the publishing revenues pick up.

What steps are you taking to fulfill your expansion plans?

Expansion plans for Six Inch Nails would be growth of existing ventures – could either be through affiliates, franchising and opening up offices in other parts of the world. Launching new ventures, expanding the Six Inch Nails team by hiring more employees and of course higher sales and higher revenues which would help me achieve my dreams.

How many bands and albums have you released? What has been the consumer response to it? , What are you doing on the publishing front?

Six Inch Nails Records, as of March 2011 has 5 bands signed on and 4 albums released from countries like Brazil, Poland, Ukraine and India. The maximum response has been from the bands’ home countries. Launching these music albums have given me a practical example of how the product life cycle works, right from introduction to decline. The first album on Six Inch Nails Records was sold out in the first 2 months, we had to go for another production run for the album and it is still selling well.

Six Inch Nails Publishing as of March 2011 is still in its initial stages, we’re currently working on launching the first publication by an Indian author and it should be out in April 2011 and the launch of publishing packages for independent authors should follow soon.

I expect Six Inch Nails Group to grow substantially in the coming years, and we really hope to provide the best service and always have a happy customer by our side.

YourStory wishes Urvesh good fortune on his heavy metal journey and hopes to see his publishing kick off soon. To know more on Six Inch Nails go to http://sixinchnails.com/. Tell us what you thought about this business idea and story at [email protected]