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Tag: Warner Music

  • Warner Music strikes a new note with CFO hire

    Warner Music strikes a new note with CFO hire

    MUMBAI: Warner Music India has hit a high note in its leadership line-up, naming Vikram Kulkarni as its new chief financial officer. The appointment underscores the company’s push to amplify its business strategy and deepen collaboration across the Asia-Pacific region.

    Armed with over 17 years of experience across finance, strategy, and governance, Vikram brings a sharp understanding of balancing numbers with creative ambition. Before joining Warner Music, he served as finance controller at Thermo Fisher Scientific, where he partnered with India and South Asia leadership to drive sustainable growth. He has also held key roles at Ernst & Young and Welspun Group, honing expertise in financial reporting, audit, tax, and business performance management.

    “I’m honoured to join Warner Music India during such a dynamic time for the music industry,” said Vikram Kulkarni. “The company’s artist-first vision and commitment to creative growth inspire me. I look forward to building strong financial foundations that fuel innovation and long-term success.”

    Warner Music India & SAARC managing director Jay Mehta added, “Vikram brings the perfect mix of financial insight and leadership. His strategic perspective will be vital as we continue expanding Warner Music’s presence and impact across India and South Asia.”

    With Kulkarni now in the mix, Warner Music India looks set to fine-tune its rhythm of growth, blending business precision with creative passion in one of the world’s fastest-growing music markets.

     

  • Animeta’s star power turns influence into real business currency

    Animeta’s star power turns influence into real business currency

    MUMBAI: When influence meets intelligence, the result is Animeta Brandstar’s latest winning streak. The tech-data enabled influencer marketing firm has been scripting campaigns that don’t just trend, they translate into measurable brand outcomes.

    Take Uber India’s campaign with cricket stalwarts Gautam Gambhir and Ravichandran Ashwin. Known for their stern on-field personas, the duo were reimagined in playful avatars, highlighting how Uber flips daily commutes from frustrating to delightful. Animeta managed the marquee talents and execution, sparking chatter across social feeds and proving its knack for stitching stars into relatable, mass-consumption narratives.

    And that’s just one play. Since July 2025, Animeta has rolled out 30 influencer campaigns, activating 1000 plus creators across Instagram, Youtube and Snapchat. In the same period, it has partnered with 20 new brands, while also retaining repeat mandates from stalwarts, a testament to its consistency.

    The roster spans global giants like Amazon Fashion, Starbucks, Warner Music and Uber, alongside homegrown champions such as GCPL and Jyothy Labs, whose everyday staples Cinthol, Maxo, Margo, Exo and Pril have been re-energised through creator-driven storytelling.

    Animeta also helmed influencer rollouts for fresh launches: Shotgun, Fratelli’s carbonated wine label; Ninja, GCPL’s pet food brand debuting in Chennai; and Reposenergy, a doorstep fuel delivery entrant making waves in a nascent category.

    At its core is the Animeta Brandstar platform, which powers creator discovery from a verified pool of 85,000 plus profiles, minimises spillovers, and tracks campaigns in real time. Performance isn’t just judged on reach but also advanced metrics shares, saves, click-throughs and trials linking influencer buzz directly to consideration, leads and even sales. The result: a 30 per cent ROI uplift compared to industry benchmarks.

    “Influencer marketing today is no longer just about amplification, it’s about authenticity, storytelling, and business outcomes. At Animeta, we take pride in servicing diverse categories and partnering with brands at every stage whether they are global leaders, homegrown stalwarts, or ambitious challengers. What sets us apart is our ability to consistently deliver across objectives, from awareness to trials, leads and even creator-led commerce,” said Animeta Brandstar SVP for branded content & creator strategy Biswamitra Ray (Vishu Ray).

    From scaling pop culture with Arijit Singh, Ed Sheeran and Guru Randhawa, to onboarding micro- and nano-creators for hyperlocal impact, Animeta has shown it can flex seamlessly across the spectrum.

    Looking ahead, the company is doubling down on its promise to unlock full-funnel influencer marketing. As advertisers increasingly demand conversion-driven storytelling over vanity metrics, Animeta is positioning itself as the partner that blends data, cultural relevance and creator firepower into campaigns that both trend and transact.

  • Animeta launches AI film studio

    Animeta launches AI film studio

    MUMBAI: Singapore-based Animeta has fired up an AI film studio in Mumbai, betting that artificial intelligence can turbo-charge content creation for brands and filmmakers hungry for rapid-fire storytelling.

    The creator-tech company’s new vertical marries human creativity with machine-generated visuals, promising to churn out everything from promotional clips to feature-length films at breakneck speed. The venture taps into Google Cloud’s start-up programme, which provides access to the tech giant’s Vertex AI Veo3 video generation model alongside copyright protection.

    “We’ve built a hybrid model where human creativity and AI technology work together seamlessly, empowering creators to tell their stories faster, smarter, and infinitely scalable,” said Animeta founder Anish Mehta who has spent two decades reimagining animation storytelling.

    The Mumbai studio aims to capitalise on India’s booming digital content market whilst addressing creators’ perpetual challenge: producing high-quality material at scale without breaking budgets or timelines. The platform allows writers and filmmakers to blend original scripts, music and voice work with AI-generated visuals.

    Animeta already boasts heavyweight clients including Amazon, Starbucks, Warner Music, L’Oréal Group, Tata Group, McDonald’s and Uber through its Brandstar platform, which corrals over 400,000 creators. The company’s tech arsenal spans computer vision, video encoding, natural language processing and large language models.

    The move signals how AI is reshaping content production as streaming platforms and brands scramble for fresh material. Traditional filmmaking’s lengthy production cycles increasingly clash with digital-first audiences’ appetite for constant content consumption.

    Google Cloud’s backing provides crucial copyright indemnity—a key concern as AI-generated content faces legal scrutiny over intellectual property rights. The partnership positions Animeta to exploit AI’s creative potential whilst shielding clients from potential litigation.

    The venture underscores Mumbai’s emergence as a hub for AI-powered media innovation, challenging Hollywood’s traditional dominance in cutting-edge production technology.

  • AI storm brews as Studio Blo films fashion in a whole new dimension

    AI storm brews as Studio Blo films fashion in a whole new dimension

    MUMBAI: When fashion meets philosophy in the middle of a sandstorm, you know something otherworldly is at play. Studio Blo, the next-gen content studio pushing the limits of AI-driven filmmaking, has dropped a 100 per cent AI-generated film for the Almost Gods × Fila collection blurring lines between fantasy, sport, and storytelling.

    The high-concept short, live on Youtube and Instagram, unfolds during a rare celestial event where three cloaked figures summon a sweeping sandstorm. Each figure wears pieces from the new collection, which reimagines Fila’s clay-court tennis heritage through Almost Gods’ brutalist aesthetic, laced with mysticism and elemental power.

    In a striking industry first, real fashion models were digitally cloned, with every garment and accessory rendered entirely in AI, no physical shoot, no stitched seams, just crafted pixels with the gravitas of a full-scale cinematic production. Months of prep went into the project, with seasoned cinematographers, creative directors, and AI artists at the helm.

    Studio Blo co-founder & CEO Dipankar Mukherjee set the record straight: “AI films aren’t quick and cheap. This took months, not minutes, because pedigree demands time, talent, and vision. Almost Gods treated us as true creative partners, and that made all the difference.”

    Studio Blo Co-Founder & CCO Rishabh Suri added: “AI gave us the canvas to make a metaphysical thriller in fashion form. Traditional production would’ve struggled with the sheer scale and spectacle. Here, we created something immersive and emotionally resonant, where philosophy and symbolism flow seamlessly into couture.”

    Studio Blo, staffed by veterans from VFX giants like Dneg and MPC, has already delivered showstoppers for Warner Music, YRF Films, Dentsu, and Nykaa. This film cements its mission: AI is not a shortcut, but a collaborator expanding fashion’s stage into realms once thought impossible.

    With the Almost Gods × Fila collection, sport-luxury isn’t just walking the runway; it’s conjuring storms.

  • AI on reel duty as Studio Blo crafts Emirates NBD ads with human touch

    AI on reel duty as Studio Blo crafts Emirates NBD ads with human touch

    MUMBAI: When the camera says “AI-ction,” you don’t expect it to tug at your heartstrings. Yet Studio Blo’s latest campaign for Emirates NBD proves that artificial intelligence can roll out films that feel anything but artificial. The next-gen content studio has unveiled three fully AI-generated ads for the MENAT banking giant, each scripted by Liwa.Content Driven and realised entirely within Studio Blo’s proprietary AI pipeline. But instead of flashy montages, the films weave cinematic narratives with human warmth.

    One of the campaign’s centrepieces is a business banking story about entrepreneurs finding strength in personalised support and remote convenience. The other two are hard-hitting anti-fraud PSAs that use a domino-effect metaphor reminding viewers that ignoring scams doesn’t stop them, it only leaves the next person vulnerable.

    Behind the tech sheen is an insistence on old-school craft. “Making a bad film was always easy. So is it with AI,” quipped Studio Blo co-founder and CEO Dipankar Mukherjee. “If you don’t invest in the human craft, the machine will end up making something mediocre.” He credited the production designers, cinematographers, and directors who elevated the campaign.

    Liwa.Content Driven director Sagar Rege added that the aim was not to dazzle but to move: “Most AI films today are montages. With these ads, we wanted to push the technology to tell a story.”

    Studio Blo itself is built on a marriage of filmmaking veterans alumni of DNeg and MPC and AI-first workflows. Its client list already boasts Warner Music, YRF Films, Dentsu, and Nykaa. With Emirates NBD, the studio signals a future where AI isn’t replacing creativity but collaborating with it helping brands tell smarter, faster, and infinitely ambitious stories.

  • Indian superstar Diljit Dosanjh signs deal with Warner Music

    Indian superstar Diljit Dosanjh signs deal with Warner Music

    Mumbai: Diljit Dosanjh, widely known as the ‘Super Singh of Punjab,’ has announced a partnership with Warner Music, the first time he’s signed a deal with a major record company.  Dosanjh is one of India’s leading stars and has found fame as an actor, singer, songwriter, and television presenter. 

    Dosanjh will be working with Warner Music to amplify his global music career. He has forthcoming singles with Canadian rapper Tory Lanez and the Tanzanian star Diamond Platnumz, who announced his own partnership with Warner Music last year.

    He has starred in some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful Bollywood and Punjabi films of all time – appearing in the likes of “Honsla Rakh,” “Jatt & Juliet,” “Jatt & Juliet 2,” “Punjab 1984,” “Sardaar Ji,” “Super Singh,” “Sajjan Singh Rangroot,” “Shadaa” and “Udta Punjab.”

    Dosanjh also enjoys a parallel stellar music career. He has recorded 13 studio albums and established himself as one of Punjabi music’s biggest stars.  His 2020 album “GOAT” was featured on Billboard’sGlobal Chart and went Top 20 in Canada. His latest track “Lover” has already generated more than 68 million views on YouTube.

    “I’m delighted to be collaborating with Warner Music.  Together, we’ll take Indian music way beyond the usual diaspora audiences to the top of the global charts,” said  Diljit Dosanjh. “I’ve already started working with some of Warner Music’s artists from other countries and it’s proving an exhilarating creative process.  I’m just so proud to be playing my part in putting Indian music firmly on the global map.”

    Diljit Dosanjh’s manager Sonali Singh added, “Diljit Dosanjh is a cultural phenomenon.He has sold-out venues in the UK such as the SSE Arena, Wembley, the First Direct Arena in Leeds and the Birmingham Arena. Diljit’s growth as a global artist has been unprecedented and we’re hopeful that this partnership with Warner Music India will take us one step closer to making Diljit a global music star.”

    “Punjabi music has long been popular in India and it’s now igniting international interest. You don’t get many bigger names in the genre than Diljit Dosanjh and with our creative expertise and global marketing network, we can help him reach new audiences worldwide andbecome a truly global name,” stated Warner Recorded Music CEO Max Lousada.

    “Just signing this deal has been an exhilarating process.  From our first midnight meeting to pulling together two music videos in our first weekend of working together, Diljit brings a passion and creativity that draws you into his world,” commented Warner Recorded Music president – emerging markets Alfonso Perez-Soto. “We’ve already had our Indian, Canadian and Latin American teams working on his campaigns and our ambition for him is truly global.”

    Jay Mehta, Managing Director, Warner Music India, concludes: “We’re excited to partner with the versatile and supremely talented Diljit Dosanjh. He’s a true entertainer and has struck a chord with the audiences across the globe with both his acting and singing prowess – a true rarity.His songs are already a rage with anybody who enjoys Punjabi music across the globe.”

    The partnership is the latest landmark move from Warner Music India, which launched just two years ago in March 2020.  The company swiftly signed a licensing deal with Tips Music, which owns the rights to some of the most popular Bollywood films ever produced; founded the Maati label, dedicated to the fast-growing Indian folk music genre; signed several distribution deals focused on labels from India’s different cultural and linguistic traditions.  In the Punjabi music scene, Warner Music has signed partnerships with Ziiki Media and Sky Digital.  

    Warner Music India is growing its domestic roster of superstar and developing artists, hitting the headlines last month when it signed a partnership with Armaan Malik, setting up the Always Music Global label dedicated to homegrown talent, and arranging to release his non-film music.  The company has also had success with Warner Music’s international roster in India, helping the likes of Alec Benjamin, CKay, Dua Lipa and Masked Wolf storm the charts.

  • Warner Bros International Television Distribution ups Jae H. Chang to VP sales

    Warner Bros International Television Distribution ups Jae H. Chang to VP sales

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros. International Television Distribution has promoted Jae H. Chang to vice president, sales.

     

    Based in Seoul, Chang will continue to manage all forms of television content licensing, including linear terrestrial, pay, cable, satellite and on demand services throughout Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Bangladesh. Chang will continue to report to Warner Bros. International Television Distribution senior vice president and general manager, Asia-Pacific Malcolm Smith.

     

    Chang has been with WBITD for seven years, most recently serving as director of sales, where he managed TV licensing activity in Korea in addition to Warner Channel carriage deals and Branded Services deals in South East Asia.

     

    “Jae has been a key member of our sales team and we are pleased that he will assume more responsibility for territories in this burgeoning area of the world. As the television platforms continue to evolve and windows and business models increase in complexities, it is important that we have someone of Jae’s experience and expertise leading our efforts in South East Asia,” said Warner Bros. International Television Distribution EVP Jim Brehm.

     

    Prior to joining WBITD, Chang worked with CJ Entertainment and Media for five years, Warner Music for two years and Korea Telecom for four years. 

  • YouTube in deal with Warner Music

    YouTube in deal with Warner Music

    MUMBAI: In a boost for video sharing site youtube music videos from artists like Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sean Paul will be legally available on the site.

    It has signed a deal with Warner Music Group.

    Media reports state that Youtube wil share ad revenue with Warner. A report in The Wall Street Journal further states that YouTube is developing software that automatically identifies copyrighted music and video content uploaded to the site, reported in its online edition. A portion of the revenue from ads placed near the copyrighted material will go to the owner of the copyright. 100 million videos are viewed daily on youtube.

    YouTube co-founder and CEO Chad Hurley.has ben quoted saying that in the future it would explore options for sharing online ad revenue with smaller and amateur creators of videos. “But right now we are building tools for record labels, TV networks and movie studios.”

    Interestingly this announcement of the tie up comes at a time when the world’s largest record company, Universal says that it will go after social sites like Youtube and MySpace for infringing copyright. Universal Music CEO Doug Morris has been quoted in reports saying that he believes that sites like youtube owe firms like Universal tens of millions of dollars.