CORPORATE FEATURE: SOUND RENTAL COMPANY
NJSM Marks a Milestone in the Business of Sound
From Rental Company to manufacturer and innovator, Nixon Johnny has guided and grown NJSM from a two-person company to a fifty-person company, continuing to expand into virtual events with NJSM Virtual Studio, following 25 years of continued growth and commitment. Johnny shares the success story.
With a steady and growing business, venturing into multiple facets of sound and sound development, NJSM has stood the test of time, weathering storms and emerging an industry leader in its 25th Year.
“We’re telling you our story, during a time, when the sound rental industry is facing its largest crunch. The facts are that currently, we’re all just surviving. These trying times, have however bought about crazy ideas that ensure that NJSM will survive to face another day and soar in the coming years.” Said, Nixon Johnny, Director NJSM.
Circa March 2020 NJSM knew the traditional model of sound rental wasn’t seeing its brightest times and they needed an alternate for the organization to shine through these dark days. Partnering with BNA Talent, (Artist Management company), they launched the NJSM Virtual Studio. Together they had the space, the sound equipment, the video equipment and an unbeatable array of technical expertise to service the entertainment industry. In-person live events were off the table, with an infectious disease bringing the global economy to a standstill. NJSM then created an alternate path, to bring live entertainment into the client’s devices. Using an array of internet service, and a spectacularly path breaking team, they took on this challenge and have ensured that they are able to sustain, grow and scale the NJSM Virtual Studio.
Nixon Johnny, Director NJSM does a sound check before a live event
In 1996, Nixon Johnny was one of the first few sound rental companies to buy and rent out branded speakers. He bought into the market Yamaha and JBL and stood neck to neck with the other big sound companies in Mumbai. With a humble beginning and a technical education and primarily fueled by a passion for sound, music, Nixon and NJSM manufactured their speaker boxes with locally sourced components. The inventory that Nixon built helped NJSM take baby steps into the space of sound rental.
The year 2010 was a pivot year for NJSM when the company acquired their first line array system, the DB Technologies (DVA:T4). Acquiring an inventory of over 32 boxes took NJSM into the league of big players. NJSM started servicing large concert type shows and private events and took over as the go-to sound vendor for a host of college show. NJSM’s presence grew consistently and spread across India because of its ability to provide great sound quality and technically managed sound requirement. This was just the beginning.
The Growth Story
A complete self-funded company, powering itself on the hard work and excellent service, in 2016, NJSM quickly learned top-level inventory and technical skills.
Winners All; The NJSM team who won the award for Best Sound Rental company at the PALM Sound & Light Awards 2018 pose with other winners. From l-r: Raghu Ramankutty, Warren D’souza, Sachit Subramanian, Sunil Karanjikar, Sancheth Suvarna, Nixon Johnny and Nikhil Mulay
With a goal to be able to service the major types of events, live concerts with the biggest names in the event industry, NJSM, grew into one of the most recognized names in the rental space. NJSM quickly built its inventory to include brands like D&B and L-Acoustics. The team hired talented sound engineers and technicians to hone their technical skills and deliver the best-on-ground sound events. Another milestone was adding 2 AVID S6L Larger Format Boards.
As the inventory grew with their technical sound team, NJSM continued to scale new heights, delivering sound for events like Vishal-Shekar Live shows in Goa, SUNBURN by Percept’s KSHMR, KYGO tours for their Kolkata & Mumbai chapters, Nucleya in Belgaum and Amit Trivedi in Mumbai. These major events helped bag other shows with the help of super-reviews and feedback from all partners and vendors.
NJSM, over time, has invested in the right set of people and partnered with various companies to walk forward. “The understanding and belief that working together with people of different mindsets is one of the meaningful attributes of an organization that has helped sustain its growth from 1996 onward. Today we sit in a different world and, NJSM prepares to be ready for the next phase. The three-pronged key to success has been Sound technical knowledge, People and partnerships, Growth and success. We have come through sheer perseverance and, we can’t wait to view the next phase of NJSM in times to come,” concludes Nixon.