Whalesbook
Music Labels Pivot to Artist Management in India
Music labels across India, including Saregama and global giant Universal Music Group, are rapidly expanding their operations beyond traditional music rights ownership. They are now actively engaging in managing and representing musicians, with a particular focus on artists emerging from India's burgeoning independent, non-film music scene.
This strategic evolution is designed to secure consistent content pipelines, maximize revenue generated from artists' musical output, and achieve deeper monetization of fan bases. These efforts come at a time when streaming growth remains gradual, and the competitive landscape is increasingly intense.
The Comprehensive 360-Degree Play
Unlike conventional talent agencies, these labels are adopting a holistic approach. They are encouraging artists to work frequently, sometimes exclusively, facilitating deeper fan interactions, and negotiating brand tie-ups and live performance opportunities. The ultimate aim is to extract value across the artist's complete creative lifecycle, rather than relying solely on revenues from recorded music.
Sanujeet Bhujabal, managing director for India and South Asia at Universal Music Group, described their role as a "music-led entertainment company looking holistically at all aspects of a creative artist." This includes artist development, fan development, A&R (artist and repertoire), revenue optimization, marketing, and distribution, leveraging synergies when the vision of the music label and management entities merge.
Universal Music Group India has strengthened this strategy through a partnership with independent talent management company REPRESENT and by acquiring a majority stake in entertainment company TM Ventures, which manages artists such as Arijit Singh and Badshah, enabling a full 360-degree engagement around artists.
Responding to a Shifting Consumption Landscape
Industry executives attribute this convergence of labels and management agencies to a fundamental shift in music consumption. Shahir Muneer, founder and CEO of digital media and music company Divo, notes that seven out of the top 10 music tracks in India are now non-film releases. This trend allows labels to directly invest in artists, shape their careers, and retain a stake in their long-term growth.
For independent musicians, this model offers significant advantages. Many talented artists struggle with the logistics of touring, venue bookings, marketing reach, and production costs. These new label relationships enable co-creation of programs and experimentation, allowing artists to build careers that neither party could achieve independently.
Singer-songwriter Anuv Jain's experience exemplifies this, with Universal collaborating on his music release and linking him with REPRESENT and Coca-Cola for a Coke Studio IP. This expanded into adjacent businesses like FanSocial, creating live, fan-centric experiences beyond digital platforms.
Long-Term Investment in Talent
Labels across the spectrum, from independent players to global majors, are increasingly prioritizing long-term talent development. Vivek Raina, managing director at Believe India, emphasizes that moving an artist through career stages requires time, intention, and vision, focusing on building core audiences and evolving artist identity. Labels are better positioned for these sustained efforts, aiming to shape long-term artistic journeys rather than chasing short-term wins.
Financial Implications and Market Dynamics
Independent music now accounts for 35-40% of India's new releases, prompting labels to enhance their artist management capabilities and capture a larger share of the value chain. Brand collaborations and sync licensing are expanding annually at 15-20%, elevating artist management from a support role to a strategic priority. Gaurav Dagaonkar, co-founder and CEO at Hoopr, notes that stronger artist-label management structures create professionalized pathways for monetisation across sync, brand deals, live performances, and short-form content, enabling labels to present artists as commercial packages.
Beyond streaming, creator ecosystems, sponsored content, and OTT platforms are emerging as significant income sources, allowing artists to tap multiple revenue streams simultaneously.
Potential Challenges
Despite the benefits, some industry figures express caution. Kumar Taurani, managing director of TIPS Music, points to significant challenges with exclusivity. These include potential creative limitations if an artist's vision diverges from a label's commercial priorities, marketing difficulties for non-Bollywood content, and the risk that labels may not be optimally positioned to capitalize on emerging revenue streams like international sync or niche brand partnerships.
Impact
This strategic shift is reshaping the Indian music industry by creating more professionalized pathways for artists and labels to monetize their work through diverse streams. It fosters artist growth and label diversification, though potential conflicts arising from exclusivity and creative control need careful management.
Impact Rating: 7/10
Difficult Terms Explained
- Independent, non-film scene: Refers to music created by artists not associated with major film productions or the traditional Indian film music industry, covering various genres beyond film soundtracks.
- Content pipelines: A continuous flow of new music or creative material that labels can release to the market.
- Monetize fan bases: To generate revenue from the artist's followers through various means like merchandise, exclusive content, fan club memberships, or live events.
- 360-degree play: A comprehensive business strategy where a company engages with an artist across all facets of their career, including recorded music, touring, merchandise, endorsements, and intellectual property, aiming to capture revenue from all potential sources.
- A&R (Artist and Repertoire): The department within a record label responsible for discovering new talent, overseeing the recording and production process, and guiding the artistic development of musicians.
- Synergies: The interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations or agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. In this context, it means the enhanced benefits achieved by merging the label's and management entity's strengths.
- Leverage: The use of borrowed capital or strategic partnerships to amplify returns or achieve greater results than could be attained otherwise. In this context, it means using the combined strengths of the label and management for greater impact.
- Sync licensing: The process of licensing copyrighted music for use in visual media, such as films, television shows, commercials, and video games.
- Intellectual Properties (IPs): Creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, and symbols, names, and images used in commerce. In the music context, this can include original songs, artist brands, or unique music concepts and formats.