Warner Music Group Expands Global Reach With E-Positive Acquisition In India

In a significant move that highlights the growing influence of the Indian music industry on the global stage, Warner Music Group has acquired E-Positive, a prominent India-based management and live events company. This strategic acquisition not only marks Warner's continued expansion into the Indian market but also solidifies its position in the rapidly evolving world of live music and artist management. One of the jewels in E-Positive's crown is its association with the chart-topping sensation, Darshan Raval.

Warner says that the deal strengthens its position in the market and will allow its artists “to tap into new expertise in brand partnerships and live events”.

Warner Music Group has been making a lot of noise in India over the past three years.

Since officially launching Warner Music India (WMI) in March 2020, the company has struck distribution deals with Bollywood specialist Tips Music and Punjabi music company Sky Digital India.

Warner has also inked strategic partnerships with Indian pop star Armaan Malik (in February 2022), with JetSynthesys in September 2021, and with  Jjust Music in April 2022.

Now, WMG has acquired E-Positive, home to Darshan Raval, who WMG says in a press release “is one of the top five most streamed artists in India and the fastest growing artists in the region, having quadrupled his daily streams in the last 12 months”.

Raval has released songs in multiple languages including Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi and Bengali. Darshan Raval will now sign to Warner Music.

His tracks have been streamed more than nine billion times across all platforms, while he has grown his monthly listeners across the DSPs to more than 43 million, and garnered 17 million followers on Instagram.

Warner says that E-Positive will continue to act as a standalone company and will be led by founder and CEO, Naushad Khan.Khan is a prominent figure in the live entertainment industry in India, having promoted more than 15,000 shows in the market.

Since launching E-Positive, he has also been instrumental in managing the careers of a number of artists, including Raval, whom he discovered and helped develop into a star.

The acquisition of E-Positive by Warner Music Group, with its focus on nurturing talent and producing outstanding live events, signals a bright future for the Indian music industry. Darshan Raval's fans can look forward to even more exciting music and performances, and the world can anticipate more groundbreaking collaborations and initiatives emerging from this dynamic partnership.