iWorld
Google’s Pulkit Trivedi joins Facebook as industry director
MUMBAI: Facebook has appointed Pulkit Trivedi as Industry Director for e-Commerce, Retail, Travel and Financial Services verticals, where he will lead in building and maintaining strategic relationships with clients in the country.
Trivedi, an MBA from BITS Mesra, comes to Facebook with over 18 years of extensive industry experience covering Sales, Business Development & Partnerships for Indian and multinational technology companies such as Google, Intel, Microsoft, IBM and HCL. Most recently, Pulkit held the position of Head of Industry, eCommerce at Google India and was with the company since April 2012. He was responsible for driving a large business for Google India.
“We are thrilled to have Pulkit join the talented Facebook team to help grow our advertising business. Pulkit is a well proven business professional who along with our teams will strengthen our ability to deliver personalized marketing at scale to clients in India.”said Facebook India MD Umang Bedi.
“Really excited to have joined Facebook as Industry Director for e-Commerce, Retail, Travel and Financial Services verticals. I’m looking forward to working closely with some of the best talents and making an impact at Facebook. The welcome has been grand – Thanks Umang and team,” Trivedi wrote earlier on his FB wall.
iWorld
Anirudh Ravichander and Universal Music India join forces to take South India’s sound to the world
The composer behind 13 billion streams launches Albuquerque Records with UMI as its exclusive global partner
MUMBAI: Universal Music India has struck an exclusive partnership with Albuquerque Records, the freshly minted independent label of singer-composer Anirudh Ravichander, in a deal that bets big on South India’s booming pop and hip-hop scene going global.
The arrangement, announced on 17 March, will see Universal Music India handle future pop and hip-hop releases by Anirudh himself, as well as artists signed to the new label. A first release is already in the pipeline for April, featuring Anirudh.
The numbers behind the man are hard to ignore. Debuting in 2012 with the viral sensation “Why This Kolaveri Di”, Anirudh has since clocked over 13 billion audio streams across more than 770 tracks, cementing his position as the No.1 South Indian artist on Spotify by total streams. His fingerprints are all over some of the Tamil film industry’s biggest musical moments, from Hukum and Vaathi Coming to Arabic Kuthu and the A23 Theme.
But Albuquerque Records is a different beast. Built for the non-film space, it is designed to nurture independent talent and champion the next wave of Indian pop voices. “Universal Music India’s leadership in pop and hip-hop made them the natural partner,” said Anirudh. “I’m excited to take independent voices to audiences around the world.”
Universal Music India’s chairman and CEO Devraj Sanyal was equally effusive. “Anirudh represents the future of Indian music, bold, original, and with enormous potential,” he said. “Identifying transformative talent is our superpower, and this partnership reflects that belief.”
Sanujeet Bhujabal, managing director of Universal Music India, framed the deal as more than a distribution play. “Albuquerque Records represents Anirudh’s bold artistic vision in the world of pop and hip-hop,” he said. “True to his legacy of innovation, this partnership is set to establish yet another landmark creative space, this time for the emerging world of iPop and beyond.”
For Universal Music India, the deal deepens a long-running push into South India’s four key language markets: Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu. The label already has regional imprints, film partnerships with Maddock Films and Excel Entertainment, and a growing non-film roster. Landing Anirudh, arguably the south’s most bankable music brand, is a statement of intent. South Indian music has the streams. Now it is coming for the world.
