Applications
IPRS, YouTube reach deal for music
MUMBAI: The Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS) and online video social network YouTube have announced a licensing agreement that will allow songwriters, music composers and music publishers to earn revenue on YouTube.
This is YouTube‘s first collection society deal in India. YouTube generates revenue only when ads are displayed against YouTube partner‘s videos, which is then shared with such partners. In this case it would mean that Indian music publishers, composers and authors that are members of IPRS will derive their share of revenue from the society for their works accessed on YouTube.
IPRS CEO Rakesh Nigam said, “We are extremely delighted to do this deal with leading video site like YouTube, as this association will benefit our publishers/music companies, author and sister societies. As more users get online, consumption and monetization of music will increasingly happen on the internet and YouTube will drive it.”
YouTube director of product management Asia-Pacific Adam Smith said, “This is yet another step in YouTube‘s ongoing effort to help foster the creation of Indian content and reward local artists for original works available online. We are extremely pleased to have reached an agreement with IPRS that both fosters musical talent and enables this talent to receive payment for videos on YouTube.”
In India, YouTube has already signed deals with music labels like T-Series and Saregama who represent about 70 per cent of the songs from the Hindi film industry. This agreement will open up new opportunities for the entire music industry in India to leverage the YouTube platform as an additional distribution channel and revenue source.
Saregama India senior VP Adarsh Gupta said, “This agreement between IPRS and YouTube is surely a big step for the benefit of music industry. All the major stakeholders – the artist, the lyricist, the music director as well as the publisher who contribute to the making of a track – will now earn in a transparent manner. This association also opens an important additional revenue stream as digital content consumption is on a steady rise.”
Throughout the Asia-Pacific region, YouTube is succeeding in securing mutually beneficial agreements with associations representing artists and authors. Over the last few years, YouTube has signed deals including with Jasrag in Japan, KOMCA in Korea, Cash in Hong Kong, Must in Taiwan, APRA-AMCOS for Australia/New Zealand, Filscap in the Philippines, and Compass in Singapore.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
