Warner Music India is scaling up its Artist Services & Expanded Rights division.

The unit, known as ASER, will deepen its focus across artist development, management, A&R, live touring and brand partnerships, the Warner Music Group company said on Thursday (July 9).

Warner Music India said ASER serves as its bridge into brands, sports, live entertainment and creator culture.

The division looks beyond recorded music campaigns to help artists build careers across live, brand and sync opportunities, the company said.

Jay Mehta, Managing Director, Recorded Music and Publishing, India and SAARC, at Warner Music India, said: “Artists are building brands, shaping culture, and creating value across multiple touchpoints.

“This expansion reflects our commitment to building a truly integrated ecosystem, one that supports artists to unlock new opportunities, add value to their careers, and build lasting cultural and commercial impact in India and beyond.

“Our ASER team is here to help turn brilliant talent into global superstars.”

“This expansion reflects our commitment to building a truly integrated ecosystem, one that supports artists to unlock new opportunities, add value to their careers, and build lasting cultural and commercial impact in India and beyond.”

Jay Mehta, Warner Music India

The company pointed to the collaboration between Sting Energy and Alan Walker on The Sting Within Me as an example of ASER working across markets.

The Formula 1-inspired track launched live at the Barcelona Grand Prix in June and surpassed one million Spotify streams within seven days of release, according to Warner Music India.

“Alan has brilliantly captured the energy of Formula 1, reflecting the sport’s pace, intensity, and atmosphere,” Mehta said of the track.

“This collaboration showcases the powerful connection between music and sport, while reflecting our continued focus on building a broader 360-degree ecosystem for artists and partners beyond the traditional recorded music business.”

Live entertainment remains a growth pillar within ASER, with the division scaling concerts, festivals and touring across India and international markets.

It also works alongside Warner Chappell Music India across sync, licensing and creative collaborations, the company said.

ASER‘s campaigns have included integrations around the Women’s Premier League, featuring performances by Ayushmann Khurrana, Shruti Haasan, Jonita Gandhi and Hanumankind.

Other tie-ups include Jameson x King x Sanjith Hegde and Darshan Raval x Dubai Tourism, while the division recently made Darshan Raval the face of Sony India‘s premium audio portfolio.

Anisha Gaba, Associate Director and Head of ASER at Warner Music India, said: “ASER was built on the belief that artists deserve an ecosystem, not just a release plan.”

“By bringing together developing emerging talent, forging global collaborations, producing live experiences, securing sync opportunities and establishing brand platforms with staying power, the division focuses on creating meaningful opportunities that support every stage of an artist’s journey.”

“Our goal is to build culturally relevant platforms that strengthen careers, expand audiences, and create lasting value for both artists and partners,” Gaba added.

“By bringing together developing emerging talent, forging global collaborations, producing live experiences, securing sync opportunities and establishing brand platforms with staying power, the division focuses on creating meaningful opportunities that support every stage of an artist’s journey.”

Anisha Gaba, Warner Music India

The ASER expansion builds on a run of deals since Warner Music India launched in 2020.

In 2023, the company acquired a majority stake in South India’s Divo, a digital media and music firm with a presence across all four South Indian language markets.

That October, it bought artist management and live events company E-Positive, home to Darshan Raval, adding expertise in brand partnerships and live.

Warner Music India later took a minority stake in ticketing and live entertainment platform SkillBox in 2024.

In April, it launched Warner Chappell Music India, bringing WMG‘s publishing arm directly to market under Mehta‘s leadership.

WMG CEO Robert Kyncl told India’s Economic Times: “We’re already doing great in India, but it can be a much bigger part of our story.”

Only about 2% of India‘s 1.4 billion people subscribe to a music streaming service, though the subscriber base grew 40% year over year, according to figures Kyncl cited in 2024.

India is the world’s 15th-largest recorded music market by revenue, according to the IFPI.

It recorded the biggest year-on-year rise in on-demand streams of any nation in 2023, according to Luminate.

Rival companies are also expanding in India.

HYBE, the South Korean company behind BTS, opened its fifth global headquarters in Mumbai in September.

The company described India‘s streaming market as the second-largest in the world, with around 185 million users.

HYBE India has since launched a search across the country to form a girl group, extending auditions to 10 Indian cities and to London, New York, Singapore, Toronto and Sydney.

Universal Music Group bought a 30% stake in Bollywood production house Excel Entertainment in January, in a deal valuing the company at about USD $267 million.

India‘s media and entertainment sector grew 9% YoY in 2025 to INR 2.78 trillion (USD $31.9 billion), and is forecast to reach INR 3.3 trillion ($35 billion) by 2028, according to a FICCI-EY report.

The same report projects the country’s music segment will grow at a 9% compound annual rate to INR 75 billion ($802 million) by 2028, after falling 8% YoY to INR 23 billion ($264 million) in 2025.

Jay Mehta‘s remit runs beyond India to Warner Music South Asia, which also covers Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

He has told MBW that Punjabi-language music could be the next global breakout genre after K-pop and Afrobeats, pointing to Warner artists such as Diljit Dosanjh.Music Business Worldwide