iWorld
Tips Music and Sony Music Publishing sign global deal
Mumbai: Tips Music (Tips Industries Ltd) has signed a global publishing agreement with Sony Music Publishing (SMP). The deal will enable Sony Music Publishing to administer and promote the songs globally, expanding the reach and audience of Tips Music’s extensive catalogue. The entertainment industry is witnessing a paradigm shift with Bollywood music gaining popularity globally. This collaboration between Tips Music and Sony Music Publishing is an indication of the growing demand for Indian music and the opportunities it offers for collaboration and growth.
The deal between Tips Music and SMP is anticipated to boost the publishing and royalty earnings of the Bollywood music label while enabling its artists to attain a more extensive global audience. The agreement covers administration, synchronization, and catalogue promotion of the Indian music label’s repertoire. SMP will also be promoting Tips Music’s wide array of songs in international markets.
Speaking about the collaboration, Tips Industries Ltd (Tips Music) MD Kumar Taurani said, “We are thrilled to partner with Sony Music Publishing, one of the most prestigious music publishing companies in the world. This agreement is an excellent opportunity for us to expand our reach and showcase our music to a global audience. This partnership will not only increase our publishing and royalty collection, but undoubtedly take Indian music to international shores, entertaining audiences around the globe. At Tips Music, we take pride in our extensive collection of hit Bollywood songs, making our music library one of the most comprehensive Indian music catalogues. We are committed to further fueling the growth of the Indian music industry by catering to audiences beyond borders.”
Sony Music Publishing International president Guy Henderson said, “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Kumar and his team at Tips to the Sony Music Publishing family. Tips have established an amazing collection of songs over their more than thirty years in this business and continue to add to this legacy globally as Indian repertoire takes its rightful place on the world stage. With our global reach we look forward to working with Tips to grow both its business and that of its songwriters.”
Sony Music Publishing Director of India Dinraj Shetty said, “We at SMP are delighted to enter into partnership with Tips Music, one of the richest music catalogs of India, and to represent them across global markets.”
The strategic deal gives SMP access to Tips Music’s vast catalogue that comprises over 30,000 tracks and 5,500 albums spanning across 24 languages.
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.
