This Chennai startup caught the eye of a global music giant

CHENNAI: The year was 2012. YouTube Twas still not the rage it is today, but Dhanush’s ‘Why thisKolaveri Di’ and Korean pop starPSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’ had taken thedigital music scene by storm, driving the video platform’s growth inIndia. Enter Divo Music, a digitalmedia startup, which started offering consulting services to help content producers and productionhouses navigate this fast-digitizingworld of media.Founded by Shahir Muneer andVishu Ramasamy, Divo, as the firststep, helped top TV networks insouth India make money using digital platforms. Getting Sun Networkas one of its first clients was an inflection point for the company.
It went on to offer online video, musicdistribution, publishing, digital andinfluencer marketing solutions forbrands and celebrities in south India. Divo today helps music labels,artists and musicians distribute andmonetise their content across socialmedia platforms -a major revenuestream for the industry. With a large share of the Tamilmarket, and considerable presencein the Kannada, Malayalam andTelugu music industries, Divo released more than 30,000 songs in thelast year alone, making global music giants sit up and take notice. InFebruary, global giant Warner Music India announced its decision to acquire a majority stake in Divo, as part of its strategy to cement its presence in the south Indian entertainment sector.
Warner Music India managingdirector Jay Mehta says that withIndia home to numerousstreaming services andshort video platforms,music discovery andmonetisation is acomplicated proposition. The company iskeen to have a strongpresence in the southIndian market. “Ourstrategy is to scale up invarious markets by strikingpartnerships and adding value toour partners’ growth. The Divobrand remains, and it is going to beour face in the south market,” he says. Divo’s network of artists, including the influencer ecosyste mlinked to them, was also a top drawfor Warner Music. “We have been bootstrapped fora decade now, and we found the rightpartner in Warner to broaden ourmarket and expand ourreach,” says Divo founder Muneer.
“At least 60%-70% of the brand integrations on YouTubegoes through us today,” he adds. The deal alsobrings with it a chancefor south Indian musicians to go global. Warner Music, which has taken asimilar local partnership route inother markets such as Punjabi andBhojpuri, plans to take south Indianmusic global with this move. The company did it earlier, facilitatingcollaborations between Diljit Dosanjh and Canadian rapper ToryLanez, and Armaan Malik and EdSheeran. “There is a huge Tamildiaspora in Malaysia, Singapore andother South Asian nations, and wewill work to take south Indian musicacross countries with Divo,” saysMehta. For Divo, which has teams inChennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabadand Kochi, the acquisition improvesthe company’s potential to attractand retain niche digital media talentin the crowded industry. “A lot oftalent at digital media companiestoday are former Divo hands and wehave people who have been with usfor 7-8 years. We will continue to invest time and work on building atalent pipeline for the industry,” says Muneer.