Agreement makes Warner Music India the largest player in the Indian local language market
Warner Music India has expanded its partnership with Global Music Junction (GMJ), the music and entertainment subsidiary of JetSynthesys. The companies struck a distribution deal in 2021, but this new agreement sees Warner Music make a strategic investment in GMJ, giving it a seat on the board. The move will establish Warner Music India as the largest player in the central Indian music market.
GMJ is the dominant force in the Bhojpuri, Kannada, Gujarati, Haryanvi and Oriya languages markets, recently achieving exponential growth in the latter two. Bhojpuri is the fastest-growing language in India, and this move makes Warner Music the largest player in its music market. GMJ is committed to empower artists and labels through services including content creation, events management, innovative distribution, marketing solutions, technical analytics, and legal expertise.
The company has built an ecosystem that involves more than 100 partners, over 250 million subscribers, serving up more than 100 billion minutes of entertainment annually in more than 130,000 pieces of audiovisual music content.
Its partners include renowned figures such as Bhojpuri superstars Khesari lal Yadav, Pawan Singh, Haryanvi superstars Renuka, Sapna Chaudhary and Sahil Sandhu, Odiya stars Malay Mishra and Ira Mohanty along with legends from the industry such as Sonu Nigam, Salim Merchant, Shaan, and Sulaiman Merchant.
GMJ also collaborates with training and production partners such as the top online music learning platform Artium Academy; Rajasthani-based movie production company Hariprem Films and Music Directors Sahil Sandhu (Western Beats, Haryana) and Malay Mishra (Basanta Studios, Orissa).
In the recent past, GMJ has achieved significant milestones with its content such as “Jale 2”, by Haryanvi superstar Sapna Choudhary, becoming one of the fastest music videos to reach more than 300 million views on YouTube and more than 15 million Instagram Reels in India in 90 days. The video for “Sent Gamkauwa” by Shivani Singh accumulated more than 700 million YouTube views in just six months.
Alfonso Perez Soto, President, Emerging Markets, Warner Music, says: “This is a significant milestone in the expansion of our presence across India. Working with the amazing team at GMJ last year not only strengthened our partnership, but enabled us to better support artists from the central regions of India, bringing them the best artistic support that any company can provide, and helping them connect with fans across the country and around the world. India is one of the most exciting music markets in the world and with GMJ as a partner we’re right at the heart of it.”
Rajan Navani, CEO and founder of JetSynthesys, adds: “Our journey with Warner Music has been remarkable, highlighted by some successful collaborations. The indigenous languages in which we operate, such as the Bhojpuri, Haryanvi, Oriya, Kannada and Gujarati markets in India, have seen incredible growth in the recent past. Warner Music’s investment in Global Music Junction and its continued collaboration with us will fast track the increasing expansion of India’s regional music industry. With our combined collective vision and understanding of audience preferences, we aim to strengthen the ecosystem by meeting the growing fan demand in the music and entertainment space. We are looking forward to more successful outcomes from our longstanding collaboration.”
Jay Mehta, Managing Director of Warner Music India, adds: “Our partnership continues to have a significant presence in the places in the Indian market which are growing most rapidly, and so enables us to be the fastest expanding music company. GMJ is a leading player in five language markets in central India and works with some of the biggest names in Indian music and showbusiness. This is a critical moment in our expansion across the country as we seek to position Warner Music India as the number one choice for all discerning artists and labels.”
Rajkumar Singh, CEO, Global Music Junction, comments: “GMJ is committed to pioneering innovative marketing strategies, fostering creativity, and elevating the digital music landscape across India. Our expanded partnership with Warner Music will help us fulfil our vision of becoming the foremost digital entertainment company in the country, while nurturing the next generation of talent. We will continue to enable our partners to focus on their artistic endeavours, while we manage their digital properties to engage users effectively.”
Giri Digital, an early investor in GMJ, continues to stay invested.
