iWorld
Zee Music renews multi-year global deal with YouTube and Meta.
Mumbai: Zee Music Company, a division of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, has announced the renewal of its licensing agreement with two of the world’s largest digital content-streaming companies, YouTube, and Meta (formerly known as Facebook). The deal will allow both platforms to continue offering high-quality music content from Zee Music Company’s rich catalogue of over 11,000 songs.
With an increasing number of audiences tuning in to Indian music from across the globe, the inclusion of the latest music libraries from India will allow users and YouTube Shorts creators to stay up to date with the latest music trends and styles. With its massive user base, YouTube remains one of the largest digital content platforms in the world, and the ongoing collaboration between the two companies is set to elevate the music experience for its users. Additionally, songs on short-format video platforms often receive a new lease of life when picked up by multiple popular creators, leading to renewed interest and wider popularity.
Zee Music Company’s extensive music collection has already garnered over 290 billion views across its YouTube channels with 130 million plus subscribers being a testament to its enduring popularity. As part of the deal, users can continue to use Zee Music Company’s entire catalogue to create multiple social experiences across YouTube as well as Meta platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram.
Talking about the deal, Zee Music Company chief business officer Anurag Bedi said, “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with YouTube and Meta. Both platforms have proven to be invaluable partners for us, helping us reach new audiences and connect with fans in new and innovative ways. We look forward to working together to continue delivering high-quality music content to our shared users. We aspire to continue pushing the boundaries, leveraging new revenue streams and collaborations in the ever-evolving digital music ecosystem.”
Amongst one of the youngest and India’s second largest music labels – Zee Music Company has a rich catalogue across many different genres including film and non-film music, as well as devotional and pop music in more than 22 languages. In the last fiscal year, the label has released over 2500 new songs.
The renewed deal comes at a time when the music industry is experiencing rapid growth in the digital space. The inclusion of the latest music libraries from India on both the platforms is a significant step towards promoting the diversity and growth of the music industry.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
