Sony Music India hires Rajat Kakar as Managing Director

Sony Music Entertainment has announced the appointment of Rajat Kakar as Managing Director of Sony Music India. In this role, Kakar will be based in Mumbai and will report to Shridhar Subramaniam, Sony Music Entertainment’s President, Strategy and Market Development, Asia and Middle East.

Kakar will continue to drive the company’s strategies focused on growing its industry-leading market share across the Bollywood, South Indian, Punjabi, Pop and kids-based Indian music industry; building its premium content business; and developing new One Sony opportunities with its sister Sony companies.

Subramaniam said, “India is expected to become a top ten music market in three years and Sony Music is poised to capitalise on this growth. Rajat is an experienced entertainment executive who will bring Sony Music to a new phase of success during our strategic expansion across the region.”

Kakar will be tasked to develop the company’s artist roster, increasing its partnerships and investments, and driving initiatives across Sony Music’s three regional offices covering seven different languages. As the largest foreign-owned music company in India, Kakar will also oversee its expanded activities with the Orchard, Sony Music Entertainment’s independent music distributor and label services company, and Sony/ATV, the music publishing company.

“Sony Music India has become an artist-first, marketing driven company and I'm excited to build on this strong foundation,” said Kakar. “We have an opportunity to create unique partnerships with other Sony divisions while simultaneously forging deeper artiste relations in multiple Indian languages and working in tandem with global and Indian partners to take the compelling music to discerning consumers in India and overseas.”

Prior to this appointment, Kakar served as CEO and Managing Director of Phonographic Performance Limited from January 2018 to April 2020 where he grew the music industry’s business around the monetisation of public performance and radio incomes.

Kakar’s career in the music business began at Sony Music India in 1996 where he worked for six years. At Sony Music India, he served as Director of Sales at the beginning of the company’s inception. In 2002, he joined Universal Music India as Vice-President Sales and Marketing, becoming Managing Director in 2003. During Kakar’s eight-year tenure, he oversaw the company’s foray into the digital landscape and founded new areas of business development.

Prior to joining the music industry, Kakar worked at Procter & Gamble from 1991 to 1996, leading global consumer product campaigns. He has an MBA in marketing from University Business School, Chandigarh.

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