The WAVES 2025 Summit continued to make waves in the music industry with its high-profile session, Taking Indian Music to New Heights, featuring industry pioneers from India and beyond.
The session focused on key challenges, opportunities, and strategies to elevate Indian music on the global stage.
Renowned Bollywood composer Himesh Reshammiya praised WAVES 2025 as a powerful space for collaboration and content creation. He advised aspiring artists to refine their portfolios, emphasising that quality remains the key to success in an increasingly digital era. Social media and independent platforms now provide unmatched opportunities, making the industry more accessible to fresh talent.
The discussion featured key executives from Universal Music, IFPI, Sony Music Publishing, and Saregama, who tackled pressing issues such as monetisation, digital strategies, piracy, and policy improvements. Dr. Richard Gooch of IFPI stressed the importance of copyright protection and global standards for safeguarding Indian music. Dinraj Shetty of Sony Music Publishing spoke on rights management, helping songwriters and composers navigate the complexities of streaming-era revenue models.
Meanwhile, Vikram Mehra, Managing Director of Saregama, emphasised the need for a sustainable subscription-based market to strengthen the industry’s financial foundation. He advocated for stricter measures against piracy and more robust government policies to support artists.
Warner Music India’s Jay Mehta pointed out that, despite India’s rapid economic growth, the music industry has struggled to keep pace. He highlighted consumer willingness to pay for high-quality content, reinforcing the necessity of strong industry initiatives to bridge the gap. Mehta stressed the importance of fostering genre diversity, global collaborations, and policy evolution to propel Indian music forward.
The session’s moderator, Scott De Mercado, summed up the discussion with a powerful statement: “Artists are the heroes of the industry. It’s time we build an ecosystem that truly supports them.”
With strategic insights from industry leaders, WAVES 2025 reinforced its role as a catalyst for Indian music’s global expansion. The session underscored the need for artist-centric frameworks, innovation, and stronger rights protection to fuel the industry’s growth in the digital era.
