MUMBAI: Hoopr, the nation’s first music licensing platform, has unveiled its largest-ever festive catalogue with over 500 curated tracks available on its self-serve platform, Hoopr Smash. Featuring icons like Shreya Ghoshal, Arijit Singh, Salim–Sulaiman, and regional talents such as Pawandeep Rajan and Rajeshwarie Raj, the collection spans India’s vibrant festival calendar, from Navratri and Karwa Chauth to Diwali, Chhath, and Eid.
Curated across moods, languages, and genres, the catalogue is designed for brands, influencers, and content creators seeking culturally resonant, copyright-safe soundtracks. It supports over 30 content verticals, including fashion, F&B, travel, wellness, and automobiles. From devotional bhajans to festive pop hits, Hoopr offers creators the right track to amplify engagement and storytelling.
Internal research by Hoopr highlights music as a key driver of content performance. Short-format videos using music achieve 4.3 times higher visibility, with trending festive tracks alongside influencers boosting engagement by up to 17 times. As India gears up for festivals from Navratri to Valentine’s Day, music plays a critical role in creating original, timely, and emotionally engaging campaigns.
Hoopr co-founder Gaurav Dagaonkar said, “Creators and brands struggle to find the right festive music due to copyright concerns and limited regional choices. Our curated catalogue solves this, enabling seamless content creation and culturally relevant campaigns while supporting artists fairly.”
Hoopr co-founder Meghna Mittal added, “Festive music is a key growth driver for licensing in India. Hoopr Smash offers instant access to tracks, intelligent discovery tools, and quick licensing options, helping creators and brands engage audiences at scale with minimal hassle.”
With 500 plus tracks spanning Hindi cinema, regional, and independent music, Hoopr is setting a new benchmark for India’s music licensing industry, ensuring the festive season resonates not just with lights, but with the perfect soundtrack.
MUMBAI: Hoopr, India’s first music licensing platform, has struck a major chord in the country’s creator economy, disbursing over Rs 4.5 crore to more than 1,500 artists across 20 genres over the past three years. The milestone marks an industry first in micro-sync licensing payouts, underscoring Hoopr’s mission to build a transparent and sustainable revenue stream for India’s independent music community.
Unlike traditional music models where earnings are often dominated by established labels and chart-topping artists, Hoopr’s system ensures fair compensation for those who typically remain behind the scenes: music producers, composers, and background score creators. Each time a brand or content creator licenses a track through the platform, the artist earns directly, taking home 50–65 per cent of the revenue.
The platform’s roster includes both seasoned and emerging names such as Nilesh Dahanukar (Special 26, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior), Divya Limbasia (The Family Man), Aditya Kudalkar (Gathan), and Devashish Korani (Yeh Chahiye, Ruaa Ruaa).
Hoopr currently powers over 30,000 creators, including Ashish Vidyarthi, chef Ranveer Brar, and Flying Beast and collaborates with more than 175 brands such as ITC, Himalaya, Myntra, Meesho, Marico and Ultratech.
Highlighting the platform’s impact, emerging artist Trivarg Arandhara (Triv) from Assam earned more from a single micro-licensing deal on Hoopr than he would have from 4.8 lakh streams on Spotify or Youtube.
Co-founder and CEO of Hoopr Gaurav Dagaonkar said, “This milestone goes beyond payouts, it signals a shift toward sustainable income for artists. Licensing is the future of creator monetisation, and Rs 4.5 crore is only the beginning. We aim to surpass Rs 100 crore in payouts by FY2028.”
Co-founder and CRO Meghna Mittal added, “Transparency and trust have always been at the heart of Hoopr. Our tech-enabled backend ensures artists are paid promptly whenever their music is used. We’re building an inclusive ecosystem where every artist can thrive and where brands can easily access authentic, culturally resonant music.”
MUMBAI: India’s content creators have been grooving without a licence until now. In a game-changing move for the booming creator economy, Hoopr has launched Hoopr Smash, a slick, self-serve music licensing platform that finally lets brands, agencies, and creators use hindi and regional tracks legally and affordably without hitting a sour note.
This digital-first marketplace is shaking up the copyright jungle by giving creators instant access to music from one of the most iconic catalogues in Indian cinema: YRF Music, with over 1,000 blockbuster tracks. It also ropes in 17 regional labels and over 380 artists, from A.R. Rahman and Vishal-Sheykhar to Badshah, Bohemia, and Jasleen Royal, offering a library of more than 18,000 licensable tracks and counting.
With India churning out 80,000 branded content pieces and 550,000 creators posting daily, music is often used with more enthusiasm than legality. As per industry estimates, 87 per cent of music use in content is wilfully violating copyright, bleeding the industry of a jaw-dropping Rs 3,600 crore annually. Hoopr Smash wants to plug that leak and fast.
The platform works like an e-commerce checkout for beats. Users can license a track in under 15 minutes, choosing from bundles or per-track payments. Content is sorted by use case, mood, and moment, think Diwali jingles or wedding reels plus a live ‘Trending Tracks’ feature keeps brands tuned in to what’s hot. Whether it’s a mangalsutra ad or a monsoon campaign, there’s a song for every storyline.
Commenting on the launch, Hoopr co-founder & CEO Gaurav Dagaonkar said: “As an artist, I have experienced the challenges of India’s fragmented music licensing ecosystem where even my own songs have been used without permission or payment. While brands want to license music the right way, they often find themselves navigating a complex and inconsistent process while trying to license songs. Licensing Bollywood music in particular has often been complicated, with unclear legal pathways and limited access for most brands. With Hoopr Smash, we are addressing this gap by building a transparent, accessible, and efficient platform that simplifies the legal licensing of popular Bollywood songs for all stakeholders. We envision Hoopr Smash becoming the go-to destination for ethical music licensing, empowering brands to create freely and fearlessly, while ensuring artists and music owners receive the value they truly deserve.”
Adding to this Hoopr co-founder & CRO Meghna Mittal said “Hoopr Smash is designed to address the long-standing issues of Bollywood music licensing. After extensive research with 160 plus brands and agencies, we understood that there were some major pain points volatile pricing, long negotiations, and decentralized clearance processes. Smash eliminates this by displaying Bollywood music-trending updates in real time, offering intelligent track curation, and instant licensing, allowing brands to access popular tracks faster and stay legally compliant. The site offers affordable pricing and a seamless checkout experience, and ensures that artists and labels are dealt with fairly. This is a giant leap in building an open and sustainable music licensing infrastructure in India.”
Commenting on this unique partnership Yash Raj Films Pvt. Ltd. vice president of digital & new media Anand Gurnani stated, “Hoopr’s technology presents an exciting opportunity for us to expand our reach to long-tail consumers and enhance the accessibility of our music catalogue. This partnership not only provides brands with seamless access to our extensive music catalogue but also streamlines the licensing process, ensuring efficient and compliant usage. We are confident that this collaboration will open up exciting opportunities for responsible brand engagement across short-form formats while helping us connect with wider audiences.”
In a content landscape bursting with reels, remixes, and reaction videos, Hoopr Smash lands as a much-needed remix to India’s outdated music licensing scene. More than a tech tool, it’s a cultural clean-up. By marrying ease, legality, and fairness, Hoopr Smash might just be the soundtrack to a more ethical, efficient content future.
Mumbai: Hoopr, known for its tech-driven music licensing solutions, has launched Hoopr Brand Solutions (HBS), a new division to enhance its B2B offerings. HBS combines Hoopr’s platform, music library, and creator network to provide music-led, integrated brand solutions, positioning itself as India’s only entity focused on using music for strategic branding.
Led by Meghna Mittal (co-founder & CRO), Kartikeya Haritwal (sales head), and Alok Kaul (creative lead), with guidance from Gaurav Dagaonkar (co-founder & CEO), HBS aims to collaborate with brands and their agencies to incorporate music into creative strategies for launch, awareness, promotions, and engagement.
“At Hoopr, we’ve always been passionate about empowering creators and brands with high-quality music,” said Hoopr co-founder and CEO Gaurav Dagaonkar. “Brands, today, are actively looking to use music as a medium to connect with their audiences and with HBS, we’re bringing together all the elements of our ecosystem to offer our clients a comprehensive bespoke solution for higher engagement through music. It is like a brand having its own label and music strategy that suits its positioning and TG, completely powered by Hoopr.”
HBS will leverage Hoopr’s 250,000-plus artist and creator network to provide brands with cost-effective, quick turnaround services for songs, brand anthems, and music videos across multiple languages and genres. It will also handle music distribution on streaming platforms and amplify content on social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Snap via its creator community. Additionally, HBS has partnered with the YouTube music channel Songfest for expanded reach and engagement.
The company believes that music-led campaigns deliver higher organic engagement and brand recall compared to traditional advertising.
“Music and music videos are the most consumed forms of entertainment today, which is why brands are increasingly integrating them into their marketing strategies,” said Hoopr co-founder & CRO Meghna Mittal. “With Hoopr Brand Solutions, we aim to help brands unlock that potential through campaigns that are not only impactful but measurable and long-term. We want to shift the mindset that only large brands or specific categories can leverage music strategy—music is a universal format that resonates across categories, builds an emotional connect and contrary to popular belief, is extremely cost-effective.”
Mittal elaborated, “Much like influencer marketing has become a staple for brands, we believe music marketing is the next frontier. It’s time for every brand to have a year-round music strategy.”
HBS has already partnered with major brands and agencies like Himalaya, Myntra, ITC, and Motivator World, and worked with artists such as Monali Thakur, Nikita Gandhi, Shaan, and various independent artists.
Gaurav Dagaonkar’s experience as an award-winning music director and IIM Ahmedabad alumnus strengthens Hoopr’s credibility in music marketing. Hoopr combines expertise in music, technology, and community engagement, positioning itself as a leader in the Indian market.
By tapping into the ₹3,500 crore creator market and the growing ₹40,000 crore digital advertising market, HBS is becoming a key player in the advertising ecosystem. Its data-driven approach, supported by its tech platform, creator network, and ad-ex insights, promises measurable ROI for brands through music-driven solutions. Hoopr aims to build lasting intellectual properties through collaboration with brands and creators.
Mumbai: Himalaya Wellness has launched a new music video, Zara Muskurade, celebrating joy, kindness, and self-confidence for the festive season. Featuring singer Monali Thakur and actor-influencer Aneri Vajani, the video is part of the brand’s campaign for World Smile Day, which encourages spreading positivity through simple gestures, like sharing a smile and performing acts of kindness.
Zara Muskurade serves as a reminder of the impact of small acts of kindness. The music video highlights the beauty of natural smiles and the self-care that comes from embracing one’s natural beauty. Himalaya Wellness’s strawberry shine lip balm is featured prominently, enhancing smiles with 100 per cent natural lip care to keep lips soft and nourished. Targeting young women and girls, this campaign encourages them to embrace their true selves and share their happiness. With its natural lip balm, Himalaya aims to ensure everyone can smile confidently, making every smile brighter and more beautiful.
“As we enter the festive season, it’s a time to spread warmth and joy. We believe that a smile is contagious and can brighten up anyone’s day,” said Himalaya Wellness marketing director – beauty & personal care Ragini Hariharan. “At Himalaya Wellness, we’re committed to enhancing our consumers’ well-being through innovative, natural solutions that embody our holistic approach to health and beauty. Our campaign for World Smile Day aims to inspire people to spread joy and kindness through simple act, and we are thrilled to have Monali Thakur join us on this journey.”
Monali Thakur, who sang the song, shared, “A smile is such a simple yet powerful gesture, and ‘Zara Muskurade’ beautifully captures the joy and warmth it brings. It was wonderful to collaborate with Himalaya Wellness on a project that radiates inner wellness, defying every storm and lighting the path to harmony. ‘Zara Muskurade’ is a refreshing tune that lifts the spirit and brings a sense of calm, reminding us that true wellness begins from within.”
This 360-degree music campaign was conceptualised by Hoopr Brand Solutions, in collaboration with the creative agency, Motivator.
“We crafted this music-led campaign keeping Himalaya and its users at the core, using music as a powerful vehicle to connect with the target audience for whom music is the highest and most engaging form of media consumed,” said Hoopr co-founder & CRO Meghna Mittal.
For every Himalaya Strawberry lip balm sold, a portion of the proceeds is donated to Smiletrain, a global charity that provides cleft surgery and related care.
Mumbai: Hoopr, a platform for discovering and licensing high-quality, copyright-free music, has launched “Yaari Teri,” a new song by Chirrag Modi, just in time for Friendship Day.
Chirrag Modi, an India-based rapper-singer-songwriter, transitioned from the corporate world to music, reflecting his dedication to the art. In “Yaari Teri,” Modi’s unique style and relatable lyrics capture the essence of Friendship Day, resonating with listeners.
Hoopr offers a platform for rising artists like Chirrag Modi to share their music. As a hub for emerging talent, Hoopr provides a vast library of copyright-free tracks, helping creators find the perfect music for their projects. Hoopr co-founder and CEO Gaurav Dagaonkar commented, “We are thrilled to support artists like Chirrag who bring fresh and meaningful music to our platform. ‘Yaari Teri’ is a beautiful tribute to friendship, and we’re excited to share it with a wider audience.”
Hoopr general manager of music, Bhumika Shukla added, “At Hoopr, we believe in empowering artists and giving them a stage to showcase their talent. ‘Yaari Teri’ is a testament to the kind of authentic and relatable music that our platform aims to promote. We’re proud to be a part of Chirrag’s journey and to celebrate Friendship Day with this wonderful release.”
Mumbai: Meghna Mittal is GSharp Media’s co-founder and chief marketing officer; the company has two brands under its umbrella: Songfest India and Hoopr. Songfest focuses on giving musicians the creative freedom to explore new sonic avenues; Hoopr is India’s first music licensing marketplace that intends to offer cutting-edge solutions to both musicians and content creators alike.
Ever since its inception, GSharp Media has been focused on building creator-centric products. Mittal has led these initiatives and focuses extensively on crafting innovative marketing strategies while also playing a key role in scaling up products. Her strengths lie in staying close to the consumer, understanding the market requirements, and creating the right product that solves the customer’s pain point. She was pivotal in steering several viral marketing campaigns for Songfest, which accumulated more than 100 million views for its YouTube channel.
Her latest venture is Hoopr.ai, a music licensing marketplace that offers cutting-edge viral solutions to brands and video creators in collaboration with some of the most popular artists. The idea behind it is to offer a multitude of songs, background scores, and sound effects to creators regardless of the kind of content they create and showcase some innovative music from India’s best musicians and composers. Mittal and her team aim to help the creator economy reach new heights in India and around the globe with the platform.
Prior to joining GSharp Media, Mittal led the marketing initiatives for Hubilo and YesssWorks for more than seven years. A music lover herself and a people person, her interests include designing and building consumer-centric products, creating exciting content, and crafting unique music solutions for brands. She also has a huge, self-cultivated network of influencers across the country and believes that every creator deserves to have the best tools at their disposal for creating invigorating content.
On the personal front, she is extremely passionate about cooking and loves feeding her guests different delicacies. Indiantelevision.com caught up with Mittal to find out the growth strategy of the company.
Excerpts:
On Hoopr.ai
Most founders create products that solve a certain pain point they themselves have experienced and for which there is a large market but no clear solution. A few months into the pandemic, Gaurav Dagaonkar (GSharp Media founder) and I were running the content production studio Songfest and realised that costs and means of video production had come down heavily due to the lockdown. Most clients of Songfest and Songfest itself heavily use stock video & music to complete productions and save costs. It was at this stage that we realised how limited the availability of Indian stock music was.
It was this particular project for which we needed a Hindi hip-hop, street rap kind of track, and we couldn’t find even one across all platforms in the world. The international music licensing platforms didn’t carry Indian music, and we didn’t have any of our own. I mean, we’re talking about a country with a combined value of $15 billion if you put together the film, television, advertising, and music industries, and strangely, not one music licensing marketplace existed before Hoopr. We ultimately had to get the track created, which cost us a lot more time and money than the budget permitted.
So we started thinking about the millions of Indian vloggers, podcasters, live streamers, and digital content creators, including startups, who create daily video content for their Indian audiences and would be requiring relevant Indian music. On the one hand, using music without a licence results in a copyright or content ID claim, which takes away a creator’s monetisation rights for that video, while on the other, there is hardly any Indian music available to licence. That got us to start thinking seriously about building Hoopr.
But the final catalyst in this decision turned out to be a unique one. Anushka Sen is an Indian influencer with over 35 million followers on Instagram and two million on YouTube. She received a copyright claim for using a song belonging to Songfest and asked for a micro licence that could be purchased. I remember this one day when we came across a report that projected India having more than 100 million content creators by 2025, and Sen also wanted to buy a micro licence from us. We started building Hoopr from that day on.
On Hoopr.ai’ revenue model
We offer subscriptions to individual creators and businesses. Apart from that, we also offer custom plans for enterprises.
On the growth
We’re proud of the fact that we have received traction from customers all over India. It’s a testament to the power of the creator economy that we’ve seen traction from not only individual creators but also interest from brands and businesses across India.
On the challenges for monetisation of content including music
Let’s look at the content—music and video—separately. YouTube is currently the most important source of content monetization, at least for Indian creators.However, in order for this monetization to begin on YouTube, one must have more than 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time. Post that too, it requires millions of views to make a reasonable amount of income. Typically, if YouTube pays 2-3 paisa per view in India, a typical YouTuber ends up earning somewhere close to 15 to 30 thousand for a million views.
But the million views are hard to get, so the challenge for the Indian content creator is to be regular, attract a large audience, and create content in a sustained manner. Also, a small fraction of video creators end up making substantial money from platforms such as YouTube. A lot of the other short-form platforms do not allow monetization similar to YouTube, although it is likely that this may change in the future. Aside from this, content creators face a number of other challenges that limit their ability to monetize. Sometimes there could be licensing issues, creators may end up using music tracks that might get muted, or there could be a copyright claim or a takedown.
For musicians, it can be relatively easier as one can create music tracks and distribute them to multiple streaming platforms, and typically there is a pay-out associated with each stream. However, the challenge in this case is to get discovered, heard, and seen when the competition is cutthroat and there are thousands of tracks uploaded every single day.
On how covid impacted this area
The covid pandemic fuelled the digital revolution and accelerated the growth of content creators, social media community engagers, and even curators. During this time, both Dagaonkar and I realised that our agency and brand clients were actively looking to licence Indian music but were not able to find relevant content. We experienced this difficulty while creating promos and marketing videos for Songfest. But the turning point came when one of India’s leading content creators, Anushka Sen, got a content ID claim on YouTube and called me to buy a licence. A subsequent deep dive into the numbers of the creator economy revealed that millions of creators in India require music for their content and are willing to buy licences to avoid copyright claims.
Having launched the platform now, the industry envisages Hoopr as a potential go-to platform to find the right music for video content.
On the products like Songfest that GSharp Media operates
GSharp Media is a music tech and content company, and the idea has been to create and operate brands and products in the music domain that are interconnected and have synergies with one another. With Songfest and Hoopr, we have these synergies. Songfest is a brand that creates customised brand solutions. We create branded content, such as music videos, television commercials, and so on. Songfest also operates a YouTube channel with over half a million subscribers. The biggest asset of the company is the network of 3000+ music creators that we have.
On the latest campaign
We have launched a new campaign called “#HarGharCreator” with an ad to celebrate and empower creators across India. Hoopr.ai is solving a billion-dollar problem faced by content creators and businesses every day: that of discovering and licensing the right music for their videos. India’s 80 million+ creator community comprises vloggers, podcasters, gamers, filmmakers, live-streamers, and influencers who create audio-visual content on a variety of topics. With over 25,000 tracks and sound effects, Hoopr.ai is not only enabling these creators to get specific music for their needs but also helping them avoid copyright strikes and legal issues.
Furthermore, what’s also changing is the mindset with regard to content creation, with more people embracing it as a career choice. And that is exactly what the ad captures. In the ad, a young college student can be seen telling his strict father that he doesn’t want to be an engineer but rather a content creator. The reaction of the father makes the ad a must-watch for all content creators and their families.
A creator is now emerging in nearly every home across India, and we want to help them find phenomenal Indian music for their videos. Apart from individual creators, the music on Hoopr is also being used by brands, enterprises, and OTT platforms, as it is cleared for use and free from any copyright strikes or takedowns.
On trends being seen when it comes to music tech
There are a lot of developments happening in music technology. Right from production to distribution and consumption, to areas like licensing, building communities, and fan funding of collectibles, music tech has seen a lot of developments and interesting start-ups over the last couple of years. When it comes to music production, we are seeing tools that allow people to collaborate. There are multiple music distribution services that have evolved over the last four to five years that allow artists to distribute music across different streaming platforms. We are also in an era where the majority of music is consumed through streaming platforms. As a result, apps such as Spotify are continuously evolving their algorithms and recommendation engines to contribute to a better user experience. We have also seen the emergence of licensing platforms that have opened up new doors of income for musicians.
Two areas that are still in their nascent stage but will only continue to grow are AI-generated music and the ability of artists to create and distribute NFTs. These could unlock new doors as far as the music industry is concerned and could bring with them new opportunities for artists, new sources of funding, etc., all on the back of technological development.
On the future of the podcast format in India
Any kind of individualised content creation is here to stay, whether the creator makes a living out of it or does it out of passion and knowledge sharing. Any kind of content creation is going to grow from here, mainly because there are so many new tools that are coming up that help creators create content. In the case of podcasts, it’s a bit easier, as one can create podcasts in the comfort of their homes. They are able to record using microphones, which have become cheaper using workstations. Distributing podcasts has become easier too. The biggest driver is the fact that people want to share their knowledge, experience, and learnings, in addition to the huge appetite of the digital audience to consume this content.
India still has the potential to grow multifold in the domain of podcasts and some related fields too. Companies like Pocket FM do well in India, along with regional companies like Kuku FM, which are also producing a large number of audio books. Very soon, it will translate into individuals creating systematic podcasts. The future of podcasts in India is promising, and one of the biggest drivers will be regional content or regional podcasts, as 70 per cent of India’s population consumes regional content
