Global music industry giant Sony Music has entered into a strategic partnership with Indian talent management firm KWAN to roll out a new-age pop music label called Big Bang Music (BBM). The new music label will be a 50:50 joint venture between KWAN and Sony, with both companies stating that Sony Music’s expertise in the business and global reach and KWAN’s leadership in artist management and relationships with talent, brands and promoters will help the new company. “Big Bang will create new superstars and grow the pop music economy. Together we aim to shape the future of the pop business,”said Shridhar Subramaniam, president India and Middle East, Sony Music.
BBM will be an A&R (Artists and Repertoire) unit, the division of a record label responsible for talent scouting and artistic and commercial development of the recording artist. It will also deal with creative artist development and marketing with talent being managed by KWAN and music distributed by Sony Music. “We want to enable independent artists to engage with fans through personal expression and future sounds that’ll impact popular culture in India beyond Bollywood and cricket,” said Gaurav Wadhwa, co-founder and CEO, BBM.
BBM will develop a roster of stars to cater to the fast-growing pop culture market and serve the growing need from digital content platforms, brands and live experiences for new age celebrities and fans who are digital natives, said the firms.
“We aim to give non-film music and artists a platform using the infrastructure of Sony Music, KWAN’s integrated 360 degree agency network and Gaurav’s rich experience in the music content and marketing business,” said Vijay Subramaniam, CEO, KWAN.