Warner Music India Acquires Gemini Music Catalogue In South India Push
Warner Music India is expanding across South India through a catalogue acquisition and two long-term partnerships, covering Tamil and Malayalam repertoire.
- Acquired: the Gemini Music catalogue of Tamil film soundtracks
- Signed: filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon, past and future releases
- Partnered: Magic Frames, the Malayalam production and distribution house
- Built on: a majority investment in Divo in 2023
What Warner Music India Has Actually Bought
Three different kinds of asset. The Gemini Music catalogue brings Tamil film soundtracks including Nanban, Thuppakki, Mayakkam Enna, Singam 2 and Paradesi, with scores from Harris Jayaraj, G V Prakash Kumar and Devi Sri Prasad.
The Gautham Vasudev Menon deal is a body of work rather than a label, spanning soundtracks, independent music and upcoming titles, with tracks such as Maruvaarthai and A R Rahman's Thalli Pogathey. The Magic Frames agreement adds more than 500 Malayalam tracks from films including Kaduva, Jana Gana Mana and Driving Licence, plus every future release.
Why Catalogue And Pipeline Together
Because film music in the region does not behave like a release that peaks and fades. Ashok Parwani, Head of Music for South India at Warner Music India, said South Indian soundtracks continue to find new audiences well beyond their original release, which is the argument for buying the back catalogue rather than only signing what comes next.
Jay Mehta, Managing Director for Recorded Music and Publishing in India and SAARC, framed the regional markets as central to a sustainable music business in India, pairing marquee acquisitions with long-term creative partnerships.
The Divo Machinery Underneath
None of it works without distribution. Divo, under founder Shahir Muneer, brings label operations, publishing and digital media across the South Indian film and music industries, and Muneer said the two companies are working to strengthen the regional market across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.
The new-release pipeline is scaling in parallel, led by Mutta Kalaki from G V Prakash Kumar and Ken Karunas, which the company states peaked in the Top 3 on YouTube Charts India, with an upcoming slate including the Dhanush film OM.
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