Why There is Reason to Believe in India's Music Market

Music platform Believe's founder-CEO Denis Ladegaillerie and India MD Vivek Raina speak to us about the industry's changing landscape in the country

- ANURAG TAGAT

Owing to the pandemic, it’s been over a couple of years since global music platform Believe’s founder and CEO Denis Ladegaillerie visited India. But from afar, he’s seen “the rise of independent artists” in India and throughout the world.

Ladegaillerie adds over a video call that they’ve often heard from artists talking about not owning their creative work thanks to the way film soundtrack work is commissioned, but this is changing. “They [artists] tell us that the economics has not been right from a certain standpoint, so our model has been [about] partnering with artists and making sure they own their intellectual property,” he says.

Believe Artist Services has been a name that’s popped up in several spaces in this regard. From pop duo Dream Note to Kannada hip-hop and pop artist All.OK to Punebred MC Stan, there’s plenty of work going into each release, tour and promotional cycle from the company. As much as Believe continues acting as a go-to distributor for bigger, commercial labels like AT Azaad by composer-singer Amit Trivedi, Artist Services seems to allow them to tap into the diversity of the market, as does their acquisition (and subsequent India launch) of TuneCore India.