EXCLUSIVE: India’s Eros Innovation is launching a music label powered by an AI Large Cultural Model (LCM) with seven AI-native artists drawn from established Eros characters and narrative worlds. 

The platform has also signed a strategic partnership with the family of the iconic late playback singer Mohammed Rafi to collaborate on new music recordings; a live concert experience modelled on the ABBA Voyage residency format; and the establishment of the Mohammed Rafi Academy, a new music education institution honouring his legacy.

The seven new AI-native artists are being launched through original singles and performance videos, which are expected to expand into albums, character-led musical storytelling universes, microdramas and live experiences. Videos will be available across streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music and JioSaavn. 

Debuting today across all Eros channels are the first two artists – alternative rock singer Jordan and Bollywood pop artist Tanu, with the latter aimed at Gen Z audiences. The remaining five will include Munna, delivering rap and Hindi-English hybrid music; Langda Tyagi with dark folk and rustic hip-hop; and Mudit covering indie pop and urban soul; while the label will also offer devotional, spiritual wellness, sufi and Indian folk catalogues.

Ridhima Lulla, Eros Innovation Co-Founder and Co-President, said: “The characters in Eros Music World are larger-than-life figures audiences have followed for years. What the new Eros LCM model gives us is the ability to hear them sing for the first time – not as AI-generated voices, but as performances of human compositions, directed by human creative leads, in the cultural and emotional code each character belongs to. 

“And alongside them, with the estate partnership signed with the Mohammed Rafi family, we are bringing his legacy – ethically, and through new recordings, live performance, and the Mohammed Rafi Academy – to a new generation. The technology is the instrument. The artistry is human.”

Eros says its LCM model is being deployed with music composed by humans and differs from existing more generic AI models as it’s been trained on the “cultural, emotional and performative grammar of Indian cinema, music and storytelling”.

Acknowledging ongoing tensions between the music industry and AI sector over the use of unlicensed commercial music in model training, Eros said its new label is built on signed partnerships with rights holders, human composition at every step, and models trained exclusively on owned or licensed material with documented chain of title.

Eros further clarified that the agreement is being signed with the Rafi family under documented rights and clearances, with revenue participation flowing back to the estate. The first album under the partnership launches on July 31 across all major platforms. 

Rafi, who lived from 1924 to 1980, remains one of India’s most beloved playback singers, with a recorded legacy spanning thousands of songs across multiple Indian languages over four decades. 

Shahid Rafi, son of Mohammed Rafi, said: “My father lived his life singing for the people, and he was happiest on the stage. To bring his music back to the stage for a new generation, and to establish an academy in his name that will train the singers of tomorrow, is something we have considered carefully and welcome with both pride and care. 

“This partnership, built on respect, on the right consents, and on a meaningful place for our family, honours both who he was and what he gave to others. We thank Eros Innovation for approaching this with the dignity my father always brought to his work.”