"We Now Represent 18–20% Of The U.S.'s Musical Legacy For Brands And Advertisers In India"-Mandar Thakur

Mandar Thakur CEO of  Times Music, one of India and South Asia’s foremost music entertainment powerhouses. With a dynamic portfolio spanning record labels, music publishing, and talent management, Thakur has played a pivotal role in shaping the region’s evolving soundscape—bridging tradition with innovation, and local voices with global ambitions.

In an exclusive interview with Loudest.in, Mandar Thakur shares insights on his remarkable journey in the music industry, his leadership at Times Music, and his views on the evolving landscape of Indian and global music.

Here are edited excerpts:

Q1.Tell us about your music journey so far in the music business industry, how it has been.

“Honestly, I never intended to be in the music industry.”There was no grand plan—it just happened. I’ve always loved music, but in my late teens, around 18 or 19, I was just a kid buying tapes, unsure of what to do with my life. One day, I came across a magazine with a phone number, and on a whim, I made a call. You have to remember—this was around 1989 or 1990. Record companies in India were just starting to emerge, and the scene was nothing like what it is today.

The first thing I could do was become an assistant to a lighting designer for rock concerts. I had no idea what the role involved, but it was the only opportunity I had. Someone told me to be a roadie—carrying drum kits, fixing gear, doing everything—and that’s how I got my start. It wasn’t glamorous, but it got me moving. One foot in front of the other.

In those early years, like many others, I did a lot of odd jobs. I used to manage artists and a band, and through a twist of fate, I landed up in Hong Kong. It wasn’t the most obvious destination for someone in music, but that’s all I could afford. A place to stay, some connections—and somehow, Hong Kong was the regional hub for concerts at that time.

There were no record labels, no music television, no radio pushing originals—concerts were the music business. That’s all I knew.

Back then, there was no Google. I’d open newspapers, look for upcoming concerts, and cold-call promoters. In a lucky break, the biggest of them all—Anderson Nelson—took my call. He would later become my first mentor. He was a top concert promoter and had headed BMG at one point. He was interested in the Indian market, and I was a young guy from India—so he offered me a job.

That changed everything. I worked on regional shows for huge names—Kenny G, Elton John, INXS—at just 20 or 21 years old. It was the kind of exposure most people never get at that age, and it taught me a crucial lesson: exposure leads to experience, and experience builds everything else.

After a few years, I returned to India when Channel V offered me a role. Back then, Star TV wasn’t even owned by Rupert Murdoch—it belonged to a Chinese entrepreneur. MTV was part of it, but when Murdoch came in, he replaced MTV with his own channel and kept the people. That’s how Channel V was born. It was a startup in every sense—we didn’t even have an office when I joined. We started at Shelly’s Hotel in Colaba.

Together, we reshaped India’s youth culture. Television was exploding, VJs were bigger than music artists, and we helped build a pop music industry that Bollywood later embraced. We worked with people like Atul Churamani—one of the first brilliant A&R professionals—and helped define Indian pop. Channel V launched innovations still remembered today—music charts, music award shows, and massive live events.That was the second big chapter.

Then came the third: Soundbuzzer.By 1998-99, I was bored of television—it had become too corporate. The internet was just starting to rise, so I co-founded Soundbuzz, the first digital music distribution platform for India, Southeast Asia, and Australia. We were spread across 9 countries and headquartered in Singapore. This was before Facebook, Instagram, and music streaming—back in the ringtone era.

We were the go-to partner for telecom carriers, record labels, and artists. We introduced innovations like mobile music products and licensing models for digital platforms. Eventually, Soundbuzz was acquired, making us the first in the space to reach that milestone. I stayed on for two more years, consulting while waiting for my stock options to vest.

During that time, Times Music became one of my clients. Eventually, someone said, “Stop advising and start doing,” and I took the plunge. I joined full-time to help transform Times Music from a small spiritual and physical-music label into the impactful, culturally relevant powerhouse it is today.

It’s been a wild journey—one that’s lasted over 33 years in the industry.

Q2.Congratulations on being named ‘International Music Person of the Year’ at MUSEXPO 2025!What does this global recognition mean not just for you personally, but for the Indian music industry on the international stage?

I think there are two things worth highlighting.

First, I’ve never been someone who's particularly moved by awards. For me, it's not about the trophy—it's about who is giving it and the pedigree behind it. Awards, to be honest, are everywhere. Everyone has one, or several. So what makes this one special?

This award was created by News Expo, which is a boutique, invitation-only music industry conference. It’s not some big trade fair or commercial fest—it’s a highly curated space where C-suite executives, top artists, and the most respected music supervisors from around the world gather. That in itself gives it a certain gravitas.

Bisla, who runs News Expo, is extremely selective in what he does. Past honorees include legends like Dionne Warwick, Monte and Avery Lipman—who run Republic Records, one of the most impactful labels of the past decade—the Head of Music at Apple Music, and other world-class music supervisors. So this award doesn’t follow a fixed template. It has been given to creatives, executives, and industry leaders alike.

What stood out to me is that this is the first year the award was opened to non-U.S. recipients. That makes it historic. I’m the first person not just from India or South Asia, but from the entire Asian continent—including China—to receive it.

That in itself is deeply meaningful. Because the award is specifically for executives and companies making a global impact—without the backing of a global major. It’s not about a single project, but a body of work. A sustained contribution to the music industry over time.

And that’s something that resonated with me. I wear many hats—I’m the Chairman of the Board of PPL, and I sit on the board of nearly every major music body in India. The work we’ve done at Times Music as an independent company has consistently pushed boundaries—especially internationally.

We were among the first Indian companies to forge deep partnerships in international markets. In fact, every time I landed at News Expo, people would assume we already owned the place—we had built that kind of presence. That created real momentum for our overseas business.

Another important part of this recognition is that the award was presented in Burbank, California—officially recognized by the Mayor of Burbank and the Senator of LA County. There were four proclamations that came along with it. And for those who may not know, Burbank is the media capital of the world—home to Universal, Warner Bros., Disney, Sony, Amazon, MGM—everything you associate with Hollywood is actually made there.

So yes, that pedigree matters. This wasn’t just an industry award—it had the weight of government recognition and cultural significance behind it.

Personally, it hit home in a big way. As a kid growing up in the music industry, I’d look at cassette tapes from artists like Madonna and Guns N’ Roses, and they all had “Burbank, CA” printed on the back. That was the dream. Fast forward a couple of decades, and now I’ve been walking into those same buildings, having meetings and coffee with the people who work there. So to be recognized in that very town by the people who’ve built the global music culture—it’s a full circle moment.

For the industry, I think this recognition means something even bigger. It’s the first time an executive or company from outside the U.S.—and especially from India—has received this kind of acknowledgment. I truly believe this award is not just for me, but for all of us in the Indian music industry who are working to take our culture global.

I've said this to my peers at other labels and companies: this win is one for all of us. We're all on the same mission—to elevate Indian music and culture globally. This just proves that the world is finally taking notice.

Q3.Times Music has undergone a quiet revolution under your leadership.What was the boldest bet you made that could’ve gone completely wrong—but ended up redefining the company?

Look, my career has been nothing but bold pivots.

It's hard to name just one because the whole journey has been full of them. Whether it was doing live concerts when there was no live music scene to speak of, creating or joining music television when that space was just being built, or launching a startup in an era when the internet was flooded with piracy—every move was a leap of faith. In fact, we launched just 20 days before Napster hit. That’s how early—and how bold—it was.

Taking bold steps has been a recurring theme, and that mindset continues with the choices we’ve made at Times Music. I’ve been fortunate to have the support of the Times Group and its owner, Vineet Jain, who’s given me the freedom to make these big, unconventional calls.

The first major pivot was reconfiguring the DNA of Times Music, which at the time was a small company. We decided to strip away everything that wasn't core and focus only on recorded music. It meant downsizing at first, but it put us on a focused, aggressive growth path—especially in an ecosystem full of heavily funded labels.

Next, we made an early and bold bet on music publishing. Times Music became the first in

India to represent global publishers like Chappell and Peer Music. These were relationships I personally managed even before I joined Times, during my Soundbuzz days. Back then, nobody in India was really talking about publishing—but we invested in it and built it up.

Another big pivot was in our hiring strategy. We brought in people from outside the traditional music world—from ERP companies, Vodafone, and other sectors—because diversity of thought was critical. We wanted fresh perspectives to shake things up.

Then came a bet born out of necessity: we weren’t big players in Bollywood, and didn’t have the budget to compete there. So we turned to what people now call "regional" music—languages and genres outside of mainstream Hindi cinema. But for us, that wasn’t a strategy—it was survival. We built a massive catalog and ended up owning the regional space.

That move eventually paved the way for our next bold play: the global market. I spent a lot of time traveling to music conferences, building international relationships, and expanding our distribution and publishing overseas. Today, a significant share of our revenue comes from outside India.

One of our most transformative bets came in 2016, when we formed a first-of-its-kind alliance with Speed Records, the biggest Punjabi music label. At the time, many thought it was a reckless move. But we saw the potential. We invested heavily, structured a long-term assignment deal, and helped scale Speed alongside Times Music. That alliance has dominated Punjabi music ever since, and it continues to thrive to this day.

Our next pivot was realizing we needed to grow sideways, not just upwards. As global interest in Indian music grew—and as private equity started seeing music as a serious asset class—we began getting offers. This was during Covid, when everyone was reassessing the future. We reviewed every proposal, from big labels to investment funds, and ultimately chose Primary Wave as our partner.

Primary Wave is unlike anyone else. They're not a record label—they’re a full-stack music marketing and management company. They own the largest collection of artist estates and publishing rights, with over $4.5 billion in music assets. Their roster includes only iconic, culture-defining artists. They work directly with artist estates and trusts—capturing over 100 years of American music history.

So partnering with them was another bold move for us. It brought us global heft while letting us retain our independence and vision. Today, thanks to that JV, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the biggest players in the game—with the support of one of the most respected companies in the global music ecosystem.

That’s the story. Every pivot was a bet. Some people thought they were crazy. But they’ve all defined who we are today.

Q4.You’ve long been an advocate for genre and language diversity in music.Is regional music India’s true global export? Or is it still being treated like a subcategory in boardrooms and streaming algorithms?

So, there are two questions here. One is whether "regional" is a subcategory, and the other is whether it has global value. Let me take the second one first.

I've been saying this publicly for over a decade—and more strongly over the past two years—that regional is the new mainstream.

In fact, it always has been. You simply cannot call languages like Tamil and Telugu "regional." That’s a completely outdated and, frankly, reductive view.

Look at the current state of Bollywood—the system itself has faltered. Creativity is stagnant. In contrast, the so-called "regional" markets are thriving precisely because they’re not weighed down by legacy systems and outdated formulas.

Take Punjabi, for example. How can anyone still call it regional? Punjabi is arguably India’s biggest cultural export today. It’s a language and sound that's resonating across the world. Alongside Hindi and Tamil, Punjabi is one of the dominant languages in the Indian music ecosystem. So, categorizing them as "regional" is not only inaccurate—it’s a fallacy.

Now, to address your first question: Yes, there are languages with smaller audiences—what some may call tier-2 languages—like Bengali, Assamese, etc. While their audience sizes may be smaller in comparison, the addressable market is still quite large. The idea that these are niche or limited in appeal isn’t entirely true.

The global appeal of Indian languages depends not just on the language itself, but on patterns of cultural migration. The diaspora plays a huge role in determining what music travels. It’s also about whether the language lends itself naturally to musical expression.

Punjabi is a great case study here. Punjab, Chandigarh, Mohali—these regions never had a strong film music culture, so their identity was built through pop music. From Gurdas Maan to Daler Mehndi, and through to artists like Sukhbir, the genre built a strong base. At one point, there was also the British Asian movement—artists like Talvin Singh and Bally Sagoo—which was huge but eventually faded. What we’re seeing now is a new generation of Punjabi artists, many of whom are blending hip-hop and global sounds. And it’s connecting, especially because many of them live or were raised abroad.

Then there’s Tamil and Telugu. Half the world’s engineers—and many of the CEOs of the largest companies—are from Tamil or Telugu-speaking backgrounds. It’s only natural that these languages will continue to globalize, not just through tech and business, but culturally through music.

Now, when you ask why some other languages—like Gujarati or Marathi—haven’t had the same global impact, the answer probably lies more within India than outside.

Take Gujarati: there’s a massive diaspora, especially in places like the U.S. and U.K., yet we haven’t seen a consistent stream of Gujarati pop culture making waves. Why? Maybe the community hasn’t been as motivated in that direction. Maybe the ecosystem hasn’t matured. It’s not about potential—it’s about sustained cultural output.

Every Indian language has the potential to be global. But until those languages start creating impactful pop culture consistently—not just a hit here or there in films—their music won't travel as far.

Q5.We often talk about Bollywood’s dominance, but Times Music has succeeded in building non-film IP and devotional catalogs with long tail value.What does it take to make music that’s “timeless” in a market obsessed with trends?

See, I don't think there's a "right" or "wrong" approach when it comes to this. As I said earlier, if you look at traditional companies, they're all stable—and we've all found success in our own ways.

The real obsession is in today’s market. Maybe it's become too easy, with platforms like Spotify, Instagram, and 138 different charts. Everyone’s chasing the next big thing. But like I said, fools rush in. And there are certainly fools out there. The world will always be divided into the haves and the have-nots.

The key is separating the wheat from the chaff. That’s why only a few record labels truly succeed—because their foundations are built on catalog and timelessness.

Any successful music company, anywhere in the world, will typically follow a 70-30 model:
70% catalog, 30% frontline (new music).

The strength lies in your catalog—and how creatively you manage it. Can you break it down, repackage it, build collaborations around it? That’s called catalog mining, and it’s a highly specialized job. It’s not something a 20- or 30-year-old can just jump into. It requires deep musical knowledge, marketing understanding, sales intuition—it's a musicologist’s job. A business in itself.

The remaining 30%—what we call frontline—is crucial, because fresh talent is the lifeblood of the industry. But it's also incredibly risky. Breaking a new artist today is harder than ever. Look at the Indian music scene over the past couple of years: much of it is fluff. Some trend on Instagram, some momentary spike in visibility—but very few artists actually break through and stay.

Sure, you can point to people like Diljit, AP Dhillon, Shubh, and a few others—but in a country of 1.4 billion people, with the kind of investment that’s going into the music industry, are those the only breakout names in the last few years? That’s disappointing.

Take Arijit Singh, for example. He’s the number one artist on Spotify in India—even on a platform that’s meant to push non-film music. That just proves we’re still a country obsessed with Bollywood.

So the real question becomes: What are you trying to build when you say “catalog”?

Every company has its own outlook. For us at Times Music, it was clear from the start: in a crowded marketplace, we had to carve out our own niche. That’s exactly what we did.

We began with spiritual music. We led during the remix era in the 90s. We were one of the first labels to seriously back independent music—Faridkot’s early work, you name it. Most of those "firsts" happened at Times Music. Later, we reactivated and engaged with Bollywood as well.

So no, there’s no single “correct” path. We've just been lucky to have a fantastic team with great ears, and we've made some smart, calculated decisions. That’s what’s helped us build a solid catalog.

This is a high-risk business. It’s not easy by any means—but it’s worth it when done right.

Q6.The sync scene in India is still crawling while the rest of the world is sprinting.Why are we still struggling to unlock the full commercial value of music in advertising, cinema, and gaming? And who needs to move first—the brands, the agencies, or the labels?

Let me answer your question in a way that puts things into perspective—because the sync scene isn't exactly sprinting forward in India. It’s important to understand that sync has always existed as a mature opportunity in the United States. That’s just the nature of their culture.

In the U.S., cinema isn't taken lightly. Their films and actors are not just entertainers—they’re cultural institutions. And because of that, they take their approach to things like music very seriously. You have specialists called music supervisors. Everything is highly specialized. It’s not a one-size-fits-all model.

India, on the other hand, has historically taken a different path. What once worked for us is now working against us. Here, if you're a label executive—or even just a young person starting out in the industry—you may not even know what “sync” means. So let’s start there.

Sync is not a guaranteed opportunity. It’s an occasional one. A cherry on the cake. It’s not something you can reliably build a business around here—not yet.

The way sync evolved in the West is deeply tied to the way artists are viewed: not as film stars, but as cultural icons. That’s been ingrained in their system for over a hundred years. In contrast, India's sync culture is still relatively nascent. That’s partly because, for a long time, our brands have been largely transactional in nature. Our sync scene still depends heavily on hits, rather than on identity, emotion, or cultural storytelling.

But things are changing.

As brands in India evolve, so do mentalities—ours and theirs. Globally, advertising has always been more developed, especially in places like Hollywood where the use of music was already highly strategic and emotional. That shift began over 20 years ago in the U.S., but for India, sync and publishing are still growing into themselves.

We have to be honest—India was very underdeveloped from a branding perspective. There wasn’t much you could do back then. But today, brands are far more creative, and labels have become more sophisticated. Take Times Music, for instance—we now have a vast repertoire. We also represent 18–20% of the U.S.'s musical legacy for brands and advertisers in India. That’s a significant value-add.

When brands realize that they can actually access that music through us, the conversation changes. So in the past few years, our focus hasn’t just been on hit music. Our team brings deep cultural knowledge and an understanding of advertising that allows us to suggest a much wider, more meaningful array of music to brands, depending on their audience.

We’re now operating in an extremely crowded and competitive marketplace. Remember, not long ago, we couldn’t even use music in liquor ads due to legal restrictions. But today, we’re working with e-commerce, with new-age platforms, and talking to Generation Alpha. For them, music is the primary cultural language—it’s how they connect.

We’re also living in a time where artists are becoming bigger than their songs. That’s a major shift, and a sign that we’re on the right path—finally creating cultural icons, not just playback singers.

So, yes, the sync scene is growing. It’s definitely picking up pace. But it’s taken people like me—and a few of my peers—more than 10 to 15 years of educating brands, showing them the value of music, and slowly building the bridge between creativity and commerce.

Q7.Tell us more about times music brands?

We didn’t want to handle everything within the company directly, which is why we created Times Music Brands—a specialized division that focuses on two key areas.

On one side, it works with syncs—collaborating closely with music supervisors, agencies, brands, and filmmakers. We’ve already had some great successes there, and we’ve structured the entire process to operate independently and efficiently.

On the other side, we focus on building concepts, IPs, and long-term brand partnerships. For instance, we’re working with cosmetics brands and other categories. We have a four-story Bob Marley experience coming up in Las Vegas, and a Bing Crosby-inspired golf wear line in development. There’s so much more we’re doing beyond traditional brand work—these are lifelong, revenue-generating opportunities.

So it made complete sense to carve out Times Music Brands as its own entity and bring in people who specialize in this space. That way, they can effectively collaborate with agencies and create deeper, more meaningful brand integrations.

Q8.What are some of the exciting collaborations coming up for Times Music?

Like I said, we prefer to work quietly—we let our work and performance speak for themselves, unlike a lot of the noise you hear out there.

Everyone seems to be throwing around the word “collaboration” like it’s bread and butter. But what people often miss is that you can’t just force two artists into a room and expect magic to happen. You’re seeing that in a lot of today’s so-called collaborations. Some of the music being released? You can’t remember it. You can’t hum it. None of it’s charting. And that’s when it really hit me—collaboration is a process. It has to be organic. So we decided to take a different approach.

A couple of months ago, we partnered with Primary Wave—who, as you know, manage, own, or have access to some of the biggest names in the West. We flew down DJ White Shadow (Paul Blair), Lady Gaga’s in-house producer who worked on A Star is Born and many of her major records. Along with him came Anthony, who’s worked with major K-pop acts and Pitbull.

We locked ourselves in Yash Raj Studios for two weeks.

We also have an artist management business, and we manage Aria—an incredibly talented English singer-songwriter who we believe has one of the most stunning voices today. We’re very selective about who we manage, and this was an opportunity for our in-house talent to grow.

We did things old school—no brief, no structure. We just put them in a room and let the vibe lead. And what came out of that session? A bunch of incredible songs that truly blew our minds. Those are now being developed into major projects.

This ties into the bigger picture of what we’re building. Under Times Music, we have Junglee Music for film acquisition (we’ve got 42 Tamil films, plus 6-7 Bollywood projects we’re ramping up), we have our brands division, our artist management wing, and of course, Primary Wave and The Times Group sitting at the center of it all.

So now, when we manage artists, our brand teams can build them with endorsements and campaigns. Our international partnerships help bring in producers like DJ White Shadow to create world-class music. And through our film division, we can even align our artists to perform in the films we’re acquiring.

That’s the kind of collaboration we’re excited about—not just at an artistic level, but across the entire ecosystem.

Q9.You’ve just been honored globally—but what’s still unfinished business for you?What part of the Indian music story do you feel hasn’t been written yet—and what role do you want Times Music to play in telling it?

I think the best way to describe us—whether it's me or Times Music—is that we’re as strategic as we are quick to adapt. We're also very opportunistic.

I've always said this, and it’s something I even mentioned on stage recently when I was asked a similar question by a brilliant journalist. My answer remains the same: Plan with what you have and where you are. That’s always been my philosophy.

The two things I do consistently? I keep showing up, and I keep moving forward. That’s the core of how I operate—and I think anyone who follows that mindset will keep evolving.

So what’s next? It’s what’s next for all of us, really. We’re all chasing both creative and commercial success, and we’re focused on getting better at both.

For Times Music specifically, the future is particularly exciting. We're in a unique position—we sit right in the middle. We're structured like a mini-major, thanks to our independent and aggressive partners, but we operate differently.

Our goal now is to grow laterally. We have the agility, the speed, the partnerships, and the repertoire. And with the backing of our shareholders—the Times Group and Primary Wave—we’re primed to scale.

As India experiences this creative revolution, with younger artists and companies emerging and looking to grow at scale, we’re positioning ourselves as the ideal partner.

We’re not just a distributor. We operate globally. We have access to a wide network and deep resources—but we’re not weighed down by the bureaucracy of a global major.

In a way, Times Music represents the perfect middle. Instead of just growing vertically, we’re expanding our foundation—making it wider and stronger—so that we can grow in a more sustainable, consistent way.

Q10.Where do you see music business in next 5 years?

I think India is at a very interesting juncture right now. That’s a good question—and I’m going to answer it not just wearing my Times Music hat, but also drawing from the various industry roles I’ve held.

The Indian music industry has experienced a roughly 20% year-on-year CAGR growth over the past 7 to 8 years. This year, however, we saw a dip. In our opinion, that's a market correction—because the growth until now was, quite frankly, fueled by artificial means. Streaming platforms were essentially paying out of their own pockets to sustain the market.

As a music industry, we’ve been advocating for a shift toward subscription-based models for the past five years. We even offered lower MGAs (Minimum Guarantee Amounts) to support that transition. But at the time, many platforms were more focused on user acquisition and chasing eyeballs—fair enough, that was their strategy. They were trying to build a market. But at some point, the money runs out.

Now, we find ourselves in a situation where streaming has become a one or two-trick pony. That puts significant pressure on both the platforms and us, the content creators.

So yes, we’re in a phase of market correction. Growth this year has hovered between 0 to 2%, which is honestly quite dismal. India has even slipped in the global rankings.

But from my perspective—as someone within the industry and at Times Music—our medium to long-term outlook remains extremely strong. We firmly believe that India will become a top 10 global music market within the next 5 to 6 years.

Of course, that will only happen if the ecosystem evolves. Consumers need to start paying for the content we’re creating. We can’t keep dipping into each other’s pockets. That’s the shift we’re committed to helping build.

As that happens, we’ll also see growth in other revenue streams—management, brand partnerships, and business lines we’ve historically overlooked. Everything is converging now, just as we’ve seen in the West with companies like Live Nation and others.