MUMBAI: 2018 saw many milestones in Indian music industry. Many new music labels were introduced, many existing ones progressed and most of them kept the game of innovation on. So, let’s have a quick look back at the progress, developments and marks crossed by the prime labels.
T-Series
On the brink of being the world’ s largest subscriber base for a music label’s YouTube channel, T-Series took a massive jump from 40 mn to 70 plus million in a span of a quarter in 2018. The progress and the massive rise have been worth applauding. The label’s constant tussle with Swedish content creator PewDiePie kept T-Series in news for throughout the year. Currently, the channel is at 78 million. Its arch rival is at 79 mn when counted last.
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Times Music
The Indian division of Times Group, Times Music has been flourishing over the years. The catalogue has over 21,000 tracks in its profile and published in many regional languages under its aegis. It has an independent music label for its Bollywood films and music called Junglee Films. Also, Times Music imports and licenses EDM music and is the first publisher of indie music. In 2018, Times Music acquired the most leading regional music channel (Punjabi) of India Speed Records. The YouTube family of Times Music is at 3.1 million and growing.
Zee Music
A subsidiary of Zee Entertainment, Zee music has captured a lion’s share in the market. Primarily, the label publishes Hindi film music and has given many chart-bursting albums over the years. Currently, Zee Music is second after T-Series, as far as the YouTube fam is concerned.
Sony Music India
Sony Music India is the Indian branch of Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment. As of now it stands on third position after T-series and Zee Music with a subscriber base of 21 million subscribers. It also represents Warner Music in India. The portfolio of Sony Music entails regional movie music too.
Saregama
The home-grown label is one of the oldest music labels in India. Their transition from HMV to the current Saregama has been nothing short of phenomenal. HMV’s vinyl, cassettes and Cds were the only option for Bollywood music. Currently, the YouTube channel of Saregama Music stands at 6.1 million subscriber base. The label offers a bouquet of genres from devotional to Bollywood to Bollywood classics to Classical and sure growing in terms of subscriber base.
EMI Record India
The Indian wing of EMI Records, EMI records India has time and again introduced new talent, focused on promoting credible singers and musicians. It is spearheaded by Indian movie director Mohit Suri. Earlier this year, EMI Records India along with Suri announced the launch of VYRL Originals, an IP created to promote independent singers, music producers, lyricists and composers. The platform intends to release one new song of an independent artiste every month. Their YouTube channel has footprint of 684,180 subscribers.
