Tag: Atul Churamani

  • ‘Hoopr Smash partners with Turnkey Music

    ‘Hoopr Smash partners with Turnkey Music

    MUMBAI: Hoopr Smash announced its strategic partnership with Turnkey Music & Publishing Pvt. Ltd., an independent music publisher, founded and headed by seasoned music industry veteran, Atul Churamani. Through this partnership, more than 1250 tracks, largely English, from Turnkey’s catalogue, will now be available for licensing through the Hoopr Smash platform. This addition expands Hoopr Smash’s rapidly growing library to 20,000+ tracks, marking a significant milestone in making high-quality, international-standard English tracks more accessible and legally licensable for creators and brands across India.

    With a legacy rooted in artist development and publishing innovation, Turnkey Music & Publishing has worked with international catalogues, domestic copyright owners, and independent singer-songwriters. Led by industry expert, Atul Churamani – who has played a key role in shaping Indian pop, music publishing and digital music in India – Turnkey focuses on curating high-quality English music across genres like soul, blues, indie rock, and pop. The label has built a strong identity through sharp A&R, a culture-first approach, and acclaimed initiatives like Paddy Fields, India’s first folk fusion festival. This partnership brings Turnkey’s globally-relevant English music catalogue to Hoopr Smash’s self-serve platform, enabling creators and brands to license world-class tracks legally and effortlessly; while ensuring fair monetization for artists and rights holders alike.

    Churamani said, “Hoopr Smash is doing a great service to musicians and brands alike. With the amount of music being released every day, it has become challenging for brands to find new and appropriate music that is a fit for them. So we are extremely excited about partnering with Hoopr, especially as Gaurav Dagaonkar and his team have worked hard to get the Hoopr platform to where it is today, ensuring that musicians are compensated fairly for their work. In addition, Gaurav has been particular about engaging with the Indian Performing Rights Society as well, so that composers and lyricists also receive their share of royalties. Micro licensing is the new mantra for musicians and creators and we could not have asked for a better partner to help build a sustainable business for them.”

    Hoopr co-founder & CEO Gaurav Dagaonkar said, “India’s content ecosystem is booming, but the independent music space has long lacked accessible, legal licensing options. With Turnkey’s diverse and globally-relevant catalogue now on Hoopr Smash, we’re addressing this critical gap while expanding our offerings meaningfully. Atul Churamani’s legacy in artist development and the music publishing space adds immeasurable value to this collaboration. Together we hope to create a future ready and transparent ecosystem where brands and creators license music in a responsible manner and artists receive fair compensation.”

    Hoopr Co-Founder & CRO, Meghna Mittal added, “As the demand for English music grows across branded digital content, campaigns, and creator communities, it’s crucial that the music licensing infrastructure evolves to match the growing demand. Our partnership with Turnkey brings not just a rich catalogue of English tracks, but also decades of publishing expertise to the platform. Hoopr Smash’s real-time licensing, automated compliance, and intuitive discovery tools ensure that creators can access world-class music legally and instantly—while rights holders benefit from full transparency and control. This is exactly where tech, creativity, and fair monetization meet.”

    With over 80,000 brands producing digital content in India daily, nearly 87 per cent of whom operate without proper licensing, the need for a transparent, ethical music licensing solution is more urgent than ever. This collaboration between Hoopr Smash and Turnkey directly addresses India’s ₹10,000 crore annual loss due to unlicensed music usage, by offering a legally compliant, scalable framework that benefits both artists and content creators.

  • TuneCore announces the second TuneCore Grant

    TuneCore announces the second TuneCore Grant

    Mumbai: TuneCore, the leading development partner for self-releasing artists—owned by Believe, one of the world’s leading digital music companies—has announced the funding of the second artist grant India-based artists, with this year’s grant specifically highlighting Punjabi music creators. The TuneCore Grant is a cash endowment of Rs 100,000 that will be awarded to one selected artist.

    Artists who participate and submit their singles will be judged based on their talent and potential by a panel of industry experts including Artist and Label Partnerships head Padmanabhan NS, Spotify head Rumpa Banerjee, Indian Performing Rights Society head of marketing/communication & member relations Atul Churamani, Turnkey Music & Publishing managing director Satvinder Kohli (Sonu Paaji), Speed Records Entertainment director (Punjab) Sonali Singh, Ripple Effect Studios founder and business manager Diljit Dosanjh; and TuneCore head, South Asia, Heena Kriplani.

    Submission details and additional information surrounding the TuneCore Grant Punjab are available on TuneCore India’s Instagram channel @tunecore.ind. Grant Applications from artists should include an original Punjabi single of any genre.

    TuneCore VP International Tash Shah said, “The Indian music industry is made up of one of the largest pools of talented independent artists in the world. Through the direct financial support offered by the TuneCore Grant, we are able to provide a rising artist with the resources to continue to create inspiring music, which resonates with audiences around the world. The wealth of diversity and talent that comes out of India is an inspiration, and TuneCore is proud to spotlight, celebrate and uplift talent from all of India’s robust regional music markets!”

    TuneCore head South Asia Herna Kriplani commented, “The first edition of the TuneCore Grant brought forth an incredible selection of talented artists from across the country. We recognise the skills of our artists and, with the second instalment of the Grant, wanted to focus on local pockets of India to highlight the importance and relevance of regional music. India is a diverse land, and to celebrate that diversity, TuneCore aims to turn our attention—one at a time—to musicians who choose to sing in their preferred language, shedding light on the different voices that comprise the Indian music community. As part of TuneCore’s ongoing efforts to eliminate barriers faced by independent artists, we are excited to fund this new grant and remind our artists that we are here for them.”

    Last year, TuneCore unveiled its Unlimited pricing structure, allowing constant music creation to be made more accessible for all artists by giving them the ability to release an unlimited number of singles and albums for one flat annual price. The Unlimited program gives artists the freedom to create more music and experiment with different release strategies to advance their careers and feed their growing fanbases. Even those sensitive to pricing can experience TuneCore’s expertise in independent distribution and become eligible for upstream into Believe’s Label & Artist Solutions or Believe Artist Services divisions’ “Signed By” program which has benefited over 400 TuneCore artists globally.

    Earlier this year TuneCore introduced Splits to fuel collaboration for self-releasing artists and enable royalty payments from their streaming & download revenue to be easily split between all collaborators on any track or album.

    With this edition of TuneCore Grant Punjab, TuneCore focuses on the talent of regional India, narrowing the scope and turning the spotlight on regional music. The TuneCore Grant Punjab is the first of its kind.

    Panelist Sonali Singh said, “India is a land of immense musical talent and we’re glad that TuneCore is giving local independent musicians an opportunity to shine. We are certain that India will drive the next century of music, with Punjabi music creators contributing significantly to the nation’s musical output. I am excited to see what all the participants have in store for us while we build and nurture talent to showcase Indian talent on a global stage.”

    Panelist Satvinder Kohli (fondly known as Sonu Paaji to those in the industry) said, “Punjabi music has garnered attention on a global scale and I’m happy to support the TuneCore Grant, giving an opportunity for Punjabi artists to shine. Independent artists in Punjab, in India, and across the world are changing the global music landscape and an opportunity like this will encourage young talent to keep expressing themselves and pursuing their dreams.”

    In the following months, new editions of the Grant that turn to other parts of India focusing on Tamil, Telegu, Gujarati, Bengali, Kannada and other languages from India can be expected.  

     

  • Indian musicians reinterpret global artists in Paytm Insider’s ‘Jim Beam Originals’

    Indian musicians reinterpret global artists in Paytm Insider’s ‘Jim Beam Originals’

    MUMBAI: Paytm Insider’s penchant for creative innovation with Jim Beam’s enthusiasm stirred into the mix has resulted in the creation of the novel musical property Jim Beam Originals. In this series of 10 virtual music experiences, famous Indian musicians will reinterpret legendary international artists in their own inimitable styles. Giving a new spin to the works of major global icons are Colonial Cousins, Shalmali, Benny Dayal, Shaan, Purbayan Chatterjee, Karsh Kale, Raghu Dixit, Usha Uthup, Thaikuddam Bridge, and Shor Police.

    Curated and promoted by Turnkey Music Publishing and Music Plus, the first season of the show will go live on 7 November 2020. These sixty-minute sessions will reveal new dimensions not only to the Indian musicians but to the immensely popular and widely played works of these international artists, thereby creating unique, yet familiar sounds.

    Kickstarting this incredible roster of cultural confluence are the fusion Indipop group Colonial Cousins, who will employ their signature style to recreate an abridged The Eagles’ discography.

    They will be followed by the inimitable Shalmali on November 21, who will be presenting a thrilling rendition of Michael Jackson’s hits. An award-winning, multi-lingual playback singer, Shalmali will give her own hue to the King of Pop’s massive body of work.

    Varun Khare, business head live entertainment (IPs & partnerships) at Paytm Insider, said that through Jim Beam Originals, the company is attempting to create a platform where the best names in Indian music will bring their own distinctive perspective to popular hits.

    Turnkey Music Publishing founder Atul Churamani added that the initiative could have some great positives for the music business. “First, it’s a big promotion for international music which one would love to see more of. Second and very importantly, it could set a business model rolling for online gigs. I am very excited about the music we are going to hear, given the calibre of artists we are working with and paying tributes to.”

  • Saregama to open online music store

    Saregama to open online music store

    MUMBAI: Move over Apple. Music label Saregama India is set to enter the online music market aimed entirely at the “generation on the go”.

    The company is expected to launch the beta version of its online service by the end of June, while the official launch is likely to happen in August, barring any glitches. However, the company is yet to zero in on the name of the service.

    The new venture will be part of the listed entity Saregama India Ltd.

    Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, Saregama India VP publishing and new media Atul Churamani says, “Indeed we are marching towards the digital music revolution. We have already singed in 43 South Indian music labels.”

    Through Saregama online music service, songs can be downloaded to PC, copied to CD, mobile, played on a portable iPod or another digital instrument. The company will also make services and features available, including streaming videos, movies, television software, games and e-radio for purchase.

    As music-buffs are hungry to get music from new convenient and flexible sources, Churamani further adds, “We are committed to make a huge music catalogue available online and are in talks with the bigges of the Bollywood industry also to share their music library.”

    Churamani, however, was not forthcoming on the revenue sharing model the company has established with its associates. For the initial period, Saregama will be deriving its revenues through the pay-per-song model (Rs 12/song), according to Churamani. As of now, Saragama has an online bank of 70,000 songs. The software for the new servive has been developed and powered by mobile2win.

    Saregama India already runs a service HamaraCD.com, which provides an option of creating your own audio CDs of your favourite songs. The music company has a vast catalogue cutting across all genres and languages, includes film music, devotional, ghazals and classical music, Indi pop, remixes and regional songs.

    Internationally, the service is already being provided most famously through Apple’s iTunes. Napster and the recently launched Urge (a tie-up between MTV networks and Microsoft) are also in the online music game.

    For India too, the digital music era is now close at hand.

  • Saregama to open online music store

    Saregama to open online music store

    MUMBAI: Move over Apple. Music label Saregama India is set to enter the online music market aimed entirely at the “generation on the go”.

    The company is expected to launch the beta version of its online service by the end of June, while the official launch is likely to happen in August, barring any glitches. However, the company is yet to zero in on the name of the service.

    The new venture will be part of the listed entity Saregama India Ltd. 

    Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, Saregama India VP publishing and new media Atul Churamani says, “Indeed we are marching towards the digital music revolution. We have already singed in 43 South Indian music labels.”

    Through Saregama online music service, songs can be downloaded to PC, copied to CD, mobile, played on a portable iPod or another digital instrument. The company will also make services and features available, including streaming videos, movies, television software, games and e-radio for purchase.

    As music-buffs are hungry to get music from new convenient and flexible sources, Churamani further adds, “We are committed to make a huge music catalogue available online and are in talks with the bigges of the Bollywood industry also to share their music library.”

    Churamani, however, was not forthcoming on the revenue sharing model the company has established with its associates. For the initial period, Saregama will be deriving its revenues through the pay-per-song model (Rs 12/song), according to Churamani. As of now, Saragama has an online bank of 70,000 songs. The software for the new servive has been developed and powered by mobile2win.

    Saregama India already runs a service HamaraCD.com, which provides an option of creating your own audio CDs of your favourite songs. The music company has a vast catalogue cutting across all genres and languages, includes film music, devotional, ghazals and classical music, Indi pop, remixes and regional songs.

    Internationally, the service is already being provided most famously through Apple’s iTunes. Napster and the recently launched Urge (a tie-up between MTV networks and Microsoft) are also in the online music game.

    For India too, the digital music era is now close at hand.