Warner expands in India’s live music market

Warner Music Group (WMG) has acquired a minority stake in SkillBox, a live entertainment and ticketing platform based in India.

WMG says its strategic investment in the firm “enables us to expand the services that we can seamlessly offer artists, both domestic and international, connecting them with fans across India”.

The record label conglomerate already has a foothold in India’s live music market, after acquiring live events and artist management company E-Positive in October 2023.

“We see huge opportunities in India’s still nascent live entertainment industry,” says Alfonso Perez Soto, President, Emerging Markets, Warner Music. “We’re eager to leverage SkillBox’s expertise in this space and tap into this high-growth market.”

Founded by Anmol Kukreja and Sandip Ranjhan, with Roydon Bangera and Amarjeet Singha joining as part of the founding team, SkillBox began as a ticketing platform and expanded into a full-suite live entertainment company with ticketing, live brand solutions, and live tech services such as Skillbox Pay.

The company has previously worked on artist tours such as Jacob Collier, Steve Vai, Ben Howard, Karnivool, The Midnight, DIVINE, Hanumankind and more, as well as creating live events IP like Bloomverse, K-Wave, Lemonade, and LiveBox. The SkillBox platform counts over 1.5 million users.

SkillBox has also expanded into artist management through its dedicated management arm, LevelHouse, which manages prominent India-based artists such as Parvaaz, Blackstratblues, Raman Negi, JBABE & Parekh & Singh.

“Live entertainment [in India] is slated to grow rapidly”

“Investing in SkillBox, which is a ticketing, live events, and artist management company, blends perfectly with Warner Music India’s aim of being an artist-first, fan-first company,” says Jay Mehta, Managing Director, Warner Music India & SAARC.

“SkillBox’s innovative approach to live entertainment aligns exactly with our vision of providing comprehensive services to artists. Live entertainment is slated to grow rapidly. By joining forces, we can create dynamic new opportunities in India’s fast-growing entertainment market, ensuring that our artists have the best platforms to thrive.”

Anmol Kukreja, CEO & Founder, SkillBox, adds: “This collaboration aligns with our mission to redefine live entertainment and provide unparalleled experiences to both artists and fans. With Warner Music’s extensive industry expertise, artist roster and global reach, we aim to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the live music space, creating more opportunities for artists and delivering memorable events for audiences across the country.”

Warner Music India launched in March 2020 and has since struck distribution deals with Bollywood specialist Tips Music and Punjabi music company Sky Digital India.

The firm has also inked strategic partnerships with Indian pop star Armaan Malik (in February 2022), with JetSynthesys in September 2021, and with Jjust Music in April 2022.

Earlier this year, the major acquired a majority stake in India-based digital media and music firm Divo and made a strategic investment in Global Music Junction (GMJ), the music and entertainment subsidiary of JetSynthesys.

Read more about the rapid growth of India’s live music sector in the latest edition of the Global Promoters Report.

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