The Record

Magnaio — Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Dubai, United Arab Emirates. August 2025 — present. Building AI music tools on two principles: that AI should assist rather than replace the musician, and that the creator should hold undisputed ownership of their work.

Independent research — global music industry

2015 – 2025. A decade studying changes in configuration and consumption, in copyright ownership and publishing, and in the relationship between record companies and the artists they sign.

Magnasound Media Pvt. Ltd. — Founder, Chairman & CEO

January 2004 – January 2015

• Digitised the complete catalogue — 8,000+ songs across 35+ metadata fields
• Negotiated digital licensing with Sony Music
• Publishing deals with IODA and The Royalty Network — publishing revenue up 60%
• Distribution across 200+ FM stations and four mobile operators
• Operating cost reduced 70% on a physical business that had plateaued
• Catalogue sold to Sony Music

Magnasound (India) Limited — Founder, Chairman & CEO

Founded as a sole proprietorship 1986; incorporated February 1989 – May 2003

• Pioneered Indi-pop, establishing non-film music as a mainstream Indian category
• Incorporated in February 1989 as Magnasound (India) Private Limited; "Private" was dropped when the company was deemed public, becoming Magnasound (India) Limited
• Grew from $2,000 and one employee to a multi-million dollar company with ~100 staff and 15% market share within five years
• ~1,000 albums and 8,000 songs; 100+ certified Silver, Gold or Platinum
• Won the exclusive Indian licence for Warner Music International in 1988, a year before incorporation, and later for BMG International
• Raised private equity in 1999 from Birla Sun Life, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, Alliance Capital and ICICI Bank, with an IPO as the intended exit
• Signed, developed and released A.R. Rahman (first pop album), Alisha Chinai, Daler Mehndi, Biddu, Colonial Cousins, Adnan Sami, Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Hariharan, Remo Fernandes, Shweta Shetty and Baba Sehgal — among hundreds of others
• Biddu — three albums with Magnasound: Made in India with Alisha Chinai, Boom Boom with Nazia and Zoheb Hassan, and Naujawan with Shaan and Sagarika
• Released the soundtrack to Mani Ratnam's Roja — A.R. Rahman's first film score, and one of Magnasound's biggest-selling releases
• Released across eight Indian languages
• Simultaneous album releases in India and worldwide, ahead of the industry
• Grew international music sales from effectively zero in a piracy-dominated market to 10%
• Brand partnerships with Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Colgate, Tata and Sony Music — and with the Governments of India and Dubai
• Raised recording quality by setting cassette bias to blank-tape standard — an industry breakthrough against piracy
• Colonial Cousins became the first Indian act to perform on MTV Unplugged, London
• Took Indian artists into leading recording studios in the United Kingdom and United States, and onto stadium stages abroad — generating foreign exchange earnings for India
• Carried Punjabi and bhangra music to international audiences
• Repositioned Hindustani and Carnatic classical music for younger listeners nationwide
• Introduced India's first dust-free international cassette cover, and replaced any manufacturing defect with ten cassettes free of charge — which let Magnasound sell at Rs 50 against a market price of Rs 15. Competitors followed; quality and tax compliance rose across the trade
• First label to promote its artists through music videos when MTV launched its 24-hour channel in India — until then MTV India carried only film and English music

CBS Records India — President

1987 – 1988. Grew the catalogue over 25% year on year; began recording local artists across India's regions.

HMV Records India (EMI) — Head of International Music Division

July 1980 – 1985. Grew international repertoire from under 1% to 7% of total Indian music sales. Worked directly with EMI, WEA International, A&M, Motown and RCA out of New York. Hosted George Harrison in India; organised The Police's first Mumbai concert.