Universal Music has entered into an exclusive partnership with Albuquerque Records, a newly launched independent label founded by singer-composer Anirudh Ravichander. The collaboration involves Universal Music India (UMI) and Albuquerque Records jointly releasing future pop and hip-hop music by Ravichander and other artists signed to the label.
According to UMI, the partnership aims to expand Anirudh’s influence globally and establish Albuquerque Records as a hub for emerging pop and hip-hop talent from south India. Ravichander’s career achievements underscore the significance of this deal. Since debuting in 2012 with the viral hit Why This Kolaveri Di, he has accumulated more than 13 billion audio streams across over 770 tracks, making him the most streamed South Indian artist on Spotify.
UMI emphasized its ongoing commitment to south India’s rich musical culture across Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu markets. The company believes this arrangement will strengthen the global presence of groundbreaking music from the region while expanding UMI’s footprint in pop and hip-hop.
This partnership is part of a broader expansion strategy by Universal Music Group (UMG) in India. Recent moves include acquiring a 30% stake in Bollywood production house Excel Entertainment (valued at $267 million), launching Pentertainment 0075 with rapper Badshah, taking a majority stake in TM Ventures, partnering with Maddock Films on its music label Mad For Mussic, and collaborating with talent agency REPRESENT to promote Indian music globally. UMI also launched VYRL Punjabi in 2021 and worked with Capitol Records on Jason Derulo’s rework of Tesher’s Jalebi Baby.
UMG’s global strategy, outlined by CEO Sir Lucian Grainge, identifies geographic expansion as a key growth pillar alongside artist services, superfan initiatives, and AI.
