Brands
Aoneha Tagore gets into entrepreneurship with Collabor8 launch
Former Spotify India editorial head sets up firm focused on long-term brand and fandom building
MUMBAI: Aoneha Tagore is stepping out of streaming and into entrepreneurship, launching artist management and brand advisory firm Collabor8 with a clear pitch: manage musicians for careers, not just campaigns.
The former head of editorial at Spotify India has positioned the venture as a response to an industry still wired to short-term release cycles even as artists double up as cultural voices and community builders. Founded in late 2025, Collabor8 is built around longer-horizon planning, narrative shaping and career development.
Its offering spans music strategy, public relations, social media, content direction, brand partnerships, monetisation and positioning. The bundle sits under what the firm calls “Music Surround Services”, designed to align creative output with bigger career goals and market positioning.
Tagore brings more than two decades of experience across radio, television and digital. Her track record runs through WorldSpace Satellite Radio, Fever FM, Oye FM, Radio City, 9X Network, MTV and VH1, alongside work on the launch of MTV Beats. Most recently, she oversaw playlist strategy and artist programming at Spotify India during a period of rapid growth for the platform.
At Collabor8, artist management is framed as brand stewardship. The firm says it follows a people-first, insight-led model that privileges narrative clarity, fandom development and durable growth over momentary spikes in visibility. It works with emerging, scaling and established artists, tailoring playbooks to individual ambitions.
The agency has already signed a mix of upcoming and established acts and plans to keep its gaze on career planning beyond conventional release calendars.
Explaining the move, Tagore said:
“Artists today are not just releasing music, they’re shaping culture, building communities and initiating conversations. Yet much of the ecosystem still manages them for the next release or moment. Collabor8 was created to help artists articulate their vision, how they want to be seen, heard and remembered but most importantly, build meaningful narratives around their brand identity. Our focus is on building scale, longevity and fandom for music artists, not fleeting visibility.”
As the artist economy matures, Collabor8 is pitching itself as a partner for strategic, sustainable and authentic careers. The wager is simple: in a crowded market, the artists who last will be those built like brands. Collabor8 wants to be in the engine room when that happens.
Brands
Yes Madam taps Rajpal Yadav’s Chota Don nostalgia to power new digital campaign
Home salon platform ropes in Tanya Mittal as it bets on humour and pop culture to showcase trust and convenience
NOIDA: India’s fast-growing home salon platform Yes Madam is leaning on nostalgia and a dose of comic chaos to pitch its services. The brand has launched a new digital campaign starring Rajpal Yadav and influencer Tanya Mittal, reviving Yadav’s much-loved Chota Don character to underline the reliability of at-home beauty services.
The campaign marks Yes Madam’s first collaboration with Rajpal Yadav and revisits the quirky Chota Don persona made famous in the 2007 film Partner. Produced with Footloose Films, the film blends slapstick humour with a nostalgic callback to spotlight the platform’s promise of dependable, quality services delivered at home.
The storyline plays out like a miniature action comedy. Tanya Mittal finds herself surrounded by goons and calls for help, only for Rajpal Yadav to appear in full Chota Don mode, dispatching the attackers in his trademark comic style as Mittal cheers him on. The drama then flips abruptly to a calmer scene, with Mittal relaxing at home while enjoying a Yes Madam service and insisting the heroic episode really happened, even as posters of Chota Don decorate her house. The film ends with Yadav’s voiceover declaring that the incident may or may not have happened, but the trust and quality of Yes Madam’s services certainly have.
The collaboration also follows a broader show of support for Rajpal Yadav within the industry. In the growing wave of backing for the veteran actor, Mayank Arya, co-founder and chief executive of Yes Madam, publicly supported actor-producer Sonu Sood’s call for concrete help from the film industry and corporate brands. Arya took to the social media platform X urging companies to move beyond expressions of sympathy and instead offer tangible opportunities to the actor amid his ongoing legal and financial challenges.
He wrote, “Seconded @SonuSood. Even brands should come forward to help the great talent. @Rajpalofficial will also be a part of an ad film @_yesmadam! Have already aligned the team on it. #ComeBackStronger.”
Seconded @SonuSood. Even brands should come forward to help the the great talent.@Rajpalofficial will also be a part of an ad film @_yesmadam !
Have already aligned the team on it.#ComeBackStronger https://t.co/Q7qpJttLTs— Mayank Arya (@iammayankarya) February 11, 2026
Rajpal Yadav recently surrendered at Tihar Jail after the Delhi High Court rejected his plea seeking additional time to repay dues in a long-running cheque-bounce case. The actor had been accused in the case in 2018 after he was unable to repay a loan taken for a film project that failed at the box office. The court later ordered him to surrender after the dues remained unpaid.
The situation triggered a wave of support from several high-profile figures. Sonu Sood emerged as one of the most prominent voices, expressing solidarity and promising Yadav a role in his next film. Sood emphasised that industry support should be about dignity and real job opportunities rather than charity. Celebrities including Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn, Gurmeet Choudhary and Guru Randhawa have also publicly extended financial and professional support.
Before surrendering, Rajpal Yadav shared an emotional statement in which he spoke about feeling alone and unsupported, a remark that struck a chord with many in the industry. However, his brother later clarified that the actor would never have intended to suggest that he lacked support from colleagues or well-wishers.
Reflecting on the campaign, Mayank Arya said the film was designed to entertain while strengthening the brand’s message. “At Yes Madam, we have always believed in creating campaigns that connect with audiences in an engaging and memorable way. I had earlier spoken about the importance of extending meaningful opportunities to Rajpal Yadav, and we are glad to be the first brand to take that step forward with this collaboration. Through this film, we wanted to create a compelling narrative while also reinforcing the trust and reliability that customers associate with Yes Madam’s services,” Arya said.
Akanksha Vishnoi, co-founder, said the campaign leans on nostalgia to strike a chord with digital audiences. “Consumers today engage deeply with content that blends entertainment with relatability. With this campaign, we wanted to revisit a nostalgic moment while subtly reinforcing the convenience and reliability of at-home services. Rajpal Yadav’s Chota Don is an iconic character that instantly evokes nostalgia and humour, making it the perfect fit for this campaign. Tanya Mittal’s presence added a vibrant energy and helped us bring the vision of the campaign to life,” Vishnoi said.
Founded in 2016, Yes Madam offers salon and spa services at home through trained professionals using hygienic, single-use product formats. The platform now operates in more than 55 cities across India, pitching convenience, transparency and quality to a growing base of urban consumers.
The new campaign, rolling out across social media and video platforms, makes its pitch with a wink. The Chota Don rescue might be fiction, but the promise of a salon at your doorstep, the brand suggests, is the real deal.
