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Sony Music appoints Celine Joshua as senior VP digital sales
MUMBAI: Sony Music Entertainment has announced new appointments to the US division of their sales team. Celine Joshua has been appointed as senior VP of digital sales and Scott Van Horn has been appointed as senior vice president of sales, commercial group.
“Celine and Scott are both accomplished sales executives. With their strong partner relationships and proven understanding of the industry, we are well positioned for continued success moving forward,” said Sony Music Entertainment executive VP of Sales & Distribution Darren Stupak on the appointments.
Joshua will be responsible for growing Sony‘s business with digital partners, along with managing key digital accounts, and driving digital product development for Sony artists and labels. Prior to joining Sony Music, Joshua worked for Walt Disney Studios and served as head of digital Commerce where she oversaw the global digital platforms for artists from the Disney Music Group. Prior to joining Disney in 2011, she spent over five years at Warner Music Group‘s Rhino Entertainment, where she helped launch the Led Zeppelin catalog globally and oversaw international sales.
Scott Van Horn, who was named senior VP of sales, Commercial Music Group (CMG), will now oversee all aspects of sales for CMG‘s Legacy, catalog, and non-traditional sales businesses. In his new role, Van Horn will work in close coordination with CMG president Richard Story and the CMG senior management team.
Prior to his new appointment, Van Horn served as VP of sales for Legacy where he was responsible for developing and driving retail sales programs for a number of Legacy brand initiatives. Van Horn previously served as director of sales for Universal Music and Video distribution where he managed sales efforts for catalog programs and new catalog releases. He previously held sales roles at DreamWorks‘ music division and Interscope/Geffen/A&M Records.
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
