One down, one to go!

Yash Raj Films shut overseas offices, next to go is Yash Raj Music!

Yash Raj Films are the latest industry biggies to be bitten by the recession bug.u00a0 They shut their overseas distribution arm last week. And now it is believed that they are planning to shut their music company as well.

A source at YRF reveals, "Karan Johar's selling off the distribution rights to two of his films to UTV came as a big blow to YRF.

The first reaction was shutting down the overseas operations in UK and US. They have called their managers back to India."

Unwise decisions

A source in the industry however says, "Distribution has not been the only sector Yash Raj is shutting down completely.

They are now seriously contemplating on closing their sister concern, Yash Raj Music.

The cost of running operations has skyrocketed and the music company has been in serious financial doldrums with hardly any profits.

It is also believed that Yash Chopra himself has been instrumental in shutting down their music company.
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Earlier, the Chopras would get hefty amounts from music companies for their films' music but that stopped when they began their own music company, add to that advertising and promotional costs.

It was not a wise business decision. Now they've decided to go back to music companies and not only get paid, but also get them to promote their films on TV and hoardings."

Vijay Kumar, the head of Music Operations at YRM denies this development, "No, I am not aware of this. As far as I am concerned, there are no such plans."

Meanwhile a spokes-person from YRF says, "Both YRF Music and our international operations aren't shutting down and continue to function as usual.

However, given the current scenario, they have been restructured,u00a0 as is happening globally across companies big and small."