“I aim at providing a unique service provision and not just sound equipments”, Warren D’souza, Founder & MD, Sound.com

Shantanu Jain Oct 09, 2014

EE: What was the sole objective behind starting this business and what drove you to the business of rental sound?

I saw an opportunity to do live sound in India as there was a dearth of audio production quality at the time I started in 1998, however sub-consciously I was very passionate about live sound and I knew I would not work for anybody, I wanted to change the sound-scape of our business and create a new ecosystem of growth in this sector.

EE: As it is rightly said that it’s not the destination but the journey that counts… How would you relate to this?

The journey is what develops your ‘reputation’ over time from the smallest production to the biggest gig at every milestone and every platform you have to deliver and for me it has always been just exceed people expectations. I have never worked for benchmarks or opinions. SOUND.COM has always set standards instead. Be it supply or service provision.

EE: You have been passionate about sound, so how do you balance out your passion with your business?

I have to control my enthusiasm, I want to provide the best audio facilities but I have to manage to economics too as we are in a very price dependent market rather than an environment where the right person should get the job works with a very small community of event managers and show promoters for the rest it’s the best price and what’s most convenient.

EE: What has been your learning from the international concerts you has been a part of in the past?

I see a huge parity when I work with international concerts, where nothing should be compromised and the production managers work their best to ensure this be it gear as well as timelines and in India not many people a really accustomed to working with these standards and also complying with safety and health in the field. Luckily I have had the exposure to work all over the world and educate myself to match these prerequisites

EE: What are the major difficulties you experience while providing sound in the country and how do you think those can be improved?

I first see that a lot of people need to focus on their skill set, domain knowledge is extremely poor in this country and surprisingly many big names have shocking domain knowledge as they get away with their body language. Rental companies have very weak systems and processes and the logistics management is so bohemian, I firmly believe that technology has to be applied to all support systems of our business and not just the core equipment that are our capital goods.

EE: What would be those few things you think can be improved in this space to enhance its level?

These are the few things that I came across and I feel can be improved. Better overall staffing and not just engineering teams. Systems & Processes that includes rock solid logistics management. Safe rigging practices. Infrastructure to rig and fly your equipment. Good control systems & not just standard gear that everyone has.

EE: What has been your best concert so far and why?

I would say Yanni in Colombo as we executed this job in a foreign country with limited infrastructure, equipment & skill set and insurmountable obstacles to produce and audio spectacular by importing equipment and expertise from India. What felt good was the love and respect we were given for our contribution to the project! It just makes me proud to be Indian!