Highlights
- A UK music company is betting that India's next music boom lies far beyond Bollywood, with its vision indicating a larger industry shift.
- Virtuoso Music is entering India with a model that goes beyond just signing artists while offering various other services in the music sector.
- With the country having some of the global industry's biggest names, it is yet to be seen how the label will navigate this crowded market.
India's music industry is no longer attracting global companies just because of its scale. In recent times, global firms are increasingly expanding into the country to secure long-term rights, build regional-language catalogs, and build creator partnerships in a market that is mushrooming beyond Bollywood.
This changing competitive landscape offers the backdrop to UK-based Virtuoso Music's launch in India, which marks its first expansion into South Asia. Instead of entering the market as a traditional record label, the company aims to blend original music production, artist development, rights management, catalog services, and distribution under one umbrella. This reflects a model that showcases how music companies are progressively positioning themselves in one of the world's fastest-growing streaming markets.
Virtuoso Music Enters a Fast-Growing Indian Market
The timing of Virtuoso Music's India launch is significant. As per the FICCI-EY Media and Entertainment Report 2026, India's recorded music segment grew 10% in 2025 to ₹59 billion (~ $618.31 million USD) and is forecast to reach nearly ₹75B (~ $786.25M) by 2028. Simultaneously, audio streaming hit about 178 million users last year, while digital licensing accounted for 58% of music revenues, highlighting how streaming has become the industry's main commercial engine.
Nevertheless, this 58% share depicts only a 2% of growth, which necessitates the need to bolster the digital licensing sector. Interestingly, this shift reportedly also extends beyond streaming. According to the FICCI-EY Media and Entertainment Report 2026, other income apart from streaming recorded a share of 15% of the music industry's revenue in 2025, backed by labels that expanded into live events, artist management, and branded content. This broader diversification aligns with Virtuoso's integrated, artist-focused approach.
Regional Music Strategy at the Core of Virtuoso's India Play
Moving beyond the headline revenue figures, it is revealed in the report that independent, non-film music generated 43% of all streams in 2025, as film music's share of consumption continued to decline. Yet, Hindi remains the leading language, recording 59% of total music consumption, with Punjabi (8.83%), Tamil (7.32%), and Telugu (6.16%) steadily expanding their audiences. This reflects a market that is increasingly driven by regional catalogs instead of a single national mainstream.
That shift has prompted global music companies to rethink their India strategies. In April, Warner Chappell Music set up direct publishing operations in the country, replacing its earlier sub-publishing model with a complete local presence created to offer Indian songwriters with rights management, licensing, and publishing services. Warner Music Group has also spent the past few years structuring a wider regional network via investments and partnerships spanning several regional markets, while also aiming to expand its publishing architecture
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Against that backdrop, Virtuoso's announcement and Warner Music’s involvement showcase how competition in India has grown beyond just signing artists. The company intends to produce repertoire across languages like Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu, with releases planned for early 2027. They also plan on providing catalog management for existing rightsholders, marketing support, distribution, sync licensing, and brand partnerships. That combination indicates an attempt to compete across the full commercial lifecycle of music instead of centering solely on recording and releasing new tracks.
"India has an extraordinary depth of musical talent across languages, genres and generations. We're here to work alongside that talent and build something of real and lasting value together," Andrew Smith, Virtuoso Music's Head of Digital Strategy, said in a statement announcing the expansion. While Sahaj Miya, the company's Head of New Business & Music, said that their approach is rooted in the belief that creators should share in the success of their work.
Will Virtuoso be Able to Compete with Global Music Labels in India?
Whether that approach can make Virtuoso a unique entity in a market already dominated by global majors like Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group remains an open question, since others have spent years building artist rosters, distribution networks, and regional partnerships across India. Adding to the challenge are the independent domestic labels, which are also locking down market share as non-film music gains rapid commercial momentum.
Virtuoso is expected to announce its first Indian artist and industry partnerships in the coming months. Those signings will provide the first real test of whether another international player can carve out space in the Indian market. As it seems, the next phase of the country’s industry appears to be less about discovering music than about helping own, manage, and export it.
