iWorld
Preeti S Nayyar exits Universal Music Group, joins Billboard India as advisor
UMG For Brands co-founder reflects on growth journey, eyes next chapter
MUMBAI: Preeti S Nayyar has stepped down from Universal Music Group after a transformative nine-year stint, marking the end of a chapter that saw her build one of the company’s most distinctive brand-led verticals in India and South Asia.
During her tenure, Nayyar played a pivotal role in shaping UMG’s brand partnerships business, co-founding UMG For Brands in India in 2017 and scaling it into a major revenue driver for the region. As senior vice president and business head, she worked at the intersection of music, culture and marketing, bringing together artists, storytelling and brand collaborations in ways that resonated with younger audiences.
Reflecting on her journey, Universal Music Group senior vice president and business head preeti s nayyar said, “My last nine years at Universal Music Group have been absolutely unprecedented and the most transformative years of my professional life in every sense. I have experienced the full spectrum, the deep humility that failure teaches, to the profound pride and joy that success brings.”
She added that building UMG For Brands from the ground up was a defining experience. Universal Music Group senior vice president and business head preeti s nayyar said, “Building UMG For Brands India from the ground up has been an unforgettable journey and what made it truly special was the people. To my incredible teams, thank you. I am proud of what we built together.”
Under her leadership, UMG For Brands delivered several high-profile campaigns and intellectual properties, including Coke Studio Bharat, Hyundai Spotlight and Red Bull 64 Bars, along with brand-led collaborations like the Thums Up campaign featuring Hanumankind and Vishal Dadlani. Her approach focused on blending advertising with authentic cultural storytelling, often blurring the lines between content and commerce.
Before her time at UMG, Nayyar held leadership roles across major media and entertainment companies. At The Walt Disney Company, she led brand solutions and revenue for studio marketing, working on campaigns for global franchises spanning Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars. She also served at Twentieth Century Fox and Reliance Broadcast Network, building a strong foundation in film promotions and television revenue strategies.
Academically, she has completed executive education at Harvard Business School and most recently pursued a leadership programme focused on AI at the Indian School of Business, signalling a continued interest in the evolving intersection of technology and media.
Nayyar has already begun her next innings as an advisor at Billboard India, a move that hints at her continued influence in shaping India’s music and culture ecosystem.
As she signs off from UMG, Nayyar leaves behind not just a business vertical, but a playbook for how brands and music can move in sync. With her next move still under wraps, the industry will be watching closely for what comes next.
iWorld
Talk to your telly: JioHotstar’s new AI voice feature reads your mood to suggest shows
The streaming giant ditches the scroll for a “conversational” AI that understands moods, cricket and Hinglish
MUMBAI: The era of the endless scroll may finally be over. JioHotstar has officially flicked the switch on its “Conversational Voice Discovery” (CVD) feature, a high-tech overhaul designed to turn the hunt for a Friday night film into a natural chat. Developed in a landmark partnership with OpenAI, the tool moves beyond clunky keyword searches, allowing users to find content by describing their mood, context or even the most bizarre viewing scenarios.
The feature is vision of Uday Shankar, vice chairman of JioStar, whose goal is to eliminate “content overload” by replacing the tedious, traditional scroll with natural dialogue. By leveraging ChatGPT’s ability to grasp context and cultural nuance, the new mobile interface allows users to bypass menus entirely, turning search into a seamless conversation.
The launch, which rolled out across India this month, sees a ChatGPT-powered interface integrated directly into the heart of the app. Instead of typing “action movie” into a sterile search bar, viewers can now speak to their devices as if they were asking a well-read friend for a tip. For now, the feature is exclusive to the mobile app, with a rollout for Connected TV (CTV) expected in later phases.
Beyond the keyword
The CVD feature is built on what JioStar calls “Multilingual Cognitive Search.” It is designed to interpret nuance rather than just matching text. If you tell the app, “I’ve had a long day, give me something mindless and funny,” it won’t just look for those words in a title; it will sift through 300,000 hours of library content to find a light-hearted sitcom or a stand-up special that fits the vibe.
The tech is natively multilingual, catering to India’s diverse linguistic landscape. Users can switch effortlessly between languages—asking for “Koi light-hearted comedy dikhao” (show me some light-hearted comedy) or requesting a “Thriller hai but zyada dark nahi chahiye” (a thriller that isn’t too dark).
Real-time curiosity and live sports
Perhaps the most ambitious aspect of the rollout is its integration with live sports. During a high-stakes cricket match, the AI acts as a digital companion. Fans can ask, “Who is the top scorer right now?” or “Show me that last wicket again,” and the system will pull the relevant data or clips instantly. It even attempts to explain the “why” behind the crowd’s energy, responding to prompts like, “Why is everyone reacting like that?” by contextualizing on-field events.
A shift in streaming strategy
The move is part of a broader reimagining of the entertainment experience following the massive merger between JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar. Uday Shankar noted that the goal is to make premium entertainment “truly accessible” by embedding AI at the core of the user journey. By anticipating culture and context, the platform hopes to kill off “decision fatigue.”
For OpenAI, the partnership represents a major play in the Indian market. Fidji Simo, the head of applications at OpenAI, said the goal was to turn a “one-way” passive consumption experience into a “deeply personal conversation.”
As the feature goes live for millions of subscribers, the message from Bombay House is clear: the remote control is becoming obsolete. Whether you’re looking for a show that “feels like a rainy Sunday afternoon” or a crime series with a “strong female lead but not too violent,” all you have to do is ask.
