MUSIC LABELS · STREAMING · LIVE EVENTS · CONCERTS · TICKETING
Music & Live Entertainment
Executive Search
24+ Music / Live Entertainment Placements — with an average 88 Days time-to-placement and a 12-month candidate guarantee.
24+
Music / Live Entertainment Placements
88 Days
Avg. Time-to-Placement
88%
Offer Acceptance Rate
12 Months
Candidate Guarantee
Specialisation withinMedia, Entertainment & Sports·Creating the Stories That Matter
Indian music and live entertainment spans labels (T-Series, Saregama, Zee Music, Sony Music India, Universal Music India, Warner Music India, Times Music), streaming platforms (Spotify India, JioSaavn, Gaana, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Wynk), live-events / concert promoters (BookMyShow Live, Percept Live, JetSynthesys Live, Paytm Insider, District by Zomato, Live Nation India), ticketing platforms (BookMyShow, Paytm Insider, District, Zomato Live), talent-management agencies (Universal Music Publishing, Sony Music Publishing, Warner Chappell, Tune Patrol), and a rapidly-growing concert / IP-festival category driven by Lollapalooza India, NH7 Weekender, Sunburn, Magnetic Fields, and marquee international-artist India tours.
Is This Your Situation?
If any of these sound familiar, you're speaking to the right practice.
→A listed music label sought a new CEO to lead non-film catalogue expansion — placed in 94 days
→A live-entertainment platform hired a Head of IP Festivals — closed in 86 days, new festival launched with 45,000 attendance
→A ticketing platform needed a Chief Product Officer post-consolidation — placed in 78 days
→An international promoter hired an India Country Head for marquee-artist tours — closed in 92 days, 4 stadium tours delivered
Our Music & Live Entertainment Track Record
Situation:
A listed music label sought a new CEO to lead non-film catalogue expansion and streaming-royalty optimisation.
Outcome:
Placed a candidate from a global music-label India arm in 94 days; non-film catalogue revenue +58% in 14 months; streaming share of total revenue crossed 92%.
Situation:
A live-entertainment platform needed a Head of IP Festivals to launch a new marquee music IP.
Outcome:
Placed a candidate from a rival festival in 86 days; new festival launched with 45,000 attendance and 38 partner brands; year-two capacity expanded to 90,000.
All client details anonymised. Specific mandates available for reference under NDA upon request.
Our Music & Live Entertainment Practice
Indian music and live entertainment spans labels (T-Series, Saregama, Zee Music, Sony Music India, Universal Music India, Warner Music India, Times Music), streaming platforms (Spotify India, JioSaavn, Gaana, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Wynk), live-events / concert promoters (BookMyShow Live, Percept Live, JetSynthesys Live, Paytm Insider, District by Zomato, Live Nation India), ticketing platforms (BookMyShow, Paytm Insider, District, Zomato Live), talent-management agencies (Universal Music Publishing, Sony Music Publishing, Warner Chappell, Tune Patrol), and a rapidly-growing concert / IP-festival category driven by Lollapalooza India, NH7 Weekender, Sunburn, Magnetic Fields, and marquee international-artist India tours.
Gladwin’s Music & Live Entertainment practice places CEOs, Heads of A&R, Heads of Digital / Streaming Partnerships, Heads of Live / Concerts / Tours, Heads of Ticketing Platforms and Heads of Publishing & Synchronisation. Every mandate accounts for Copyright Society (IPRS / PPL / Novex) royalty economics, streaming-royalty architecture, concert-operations permits and artist-management-contract governance.
As a specialist CEO mandates in music & live entertainment, our practice also covers Chief Marketing Officer for entertainment brands, our practice also covers Media, Entertainment & Sports practice overview, and as a source for Hospitality & Travel — luxury & premium hotels.
The Music & Live Entertainment Landscape Today
Indian recorded-music market crossed ₹2,600 Cr with streaming now 90%+ of label revenue; the Top-3 labels (T-Series, Saregama, Zee Music) dominate film / non-film catalogue. Live-entertainment crossed ₹7,500 Cr with concerts / festivals / IP-events driving growth post-pandemic; international-artist India tours (Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5, Dua Lipa) command ₹35,000–90,000 ticket prices and sell out stadiums. Ticketing consolidation has accelerated (Zomato acquired Paytm Insider ticketing 2024, launched District).
Key Leadership Challenges in Music & Live Entertainment
Streaming-royalty architecture and Copyright Society navigation (IPRS / PPL / Novex)
Artist-and-label relationship economics — master ownership, 360-deals, catalogue acquisition
Concert-venue permits, security, liability and force-majeure architecture
Ticketing platform competition — BookMyShow vs Paytm Insider / District / Zomato Live
Marquee international-artist India-tour P&L architecture
IP festival ownership economics and sponsor-revenue stewardship
What We Look For in Music & Live Entertainment Leaders
Across mandates, music & live entertainment leadership tends to cluster into a small set of archetypes. We calibrate each search against the profile your board actually needs — not the one most commonly available.
The Music-Label CEO
A senior leader with 15–22 years of label P&L stewardship, film / non-film catalogue discipline, streaming-partnership negotiation credibility and IPRS / PPL royalty navigation.
The Live-Entertainment CEO
A live-events leader with concert / festival P&L stewardship, artist-and-tour-management credibility, sponsorship / brand-partnership architecture and crisis / force-majeure handling temperament.
The Head of A&R
A music A&R leader with non-film / indie / regional artist-discovery credibility, producer-ecosystem relationships and catalogue-acquisition discipline.
The Streaming-Partnerships Leader
A digital leader with streaming-platform partnership credibility across Spotify / JioSaavn / Gaana / Apple Music / YT Music, royalty-architecture discipline and data-driven-promotion stewardship.
The IP-Festival Builder
A festival / IP-events leader with brand-build credibility across 3–8-year festival runways, sponsor-ecosystem franchise and operations discipline across 30,000–200,000-attendance events.
The Ticketing-Platform Leader
A ticketing-platform leader with product / demand / supply-side stewardship, partner-venue relationships and the economics of transaction-fee / convenience-fee monetisation.
Regulatory & Compensation Context
Regulatory Backdrop
Copyright Act 1957 (with 2012 amendments establishing statutory royalty and author-share) governs music rights; Copyright Societies IPRS (performing rights), PPL (public-performance recording rights) and Novex (alternative recording rights) under Copyright Rules 2013; Cinematograph Act 1952 where film music is involved; state-level entertainment-duty and event-permit architecture (varies — Delhi Police, Mumbai Police, Goa Government); Public Liability Insurance Act 1991; State Excise for alcohol-at-venue architecture; PMLA for ticketing-platform KYC (above thresholds); GST on tickets (18% for entertainment events); IT Act / DPDP Act for ticketing-platform personal data; Companies Act 2013; FEMA for foreign-artist payments; Contract Act 1872 for artist-management agreements.
Compensation Architecture
Music label CEOs: ₹3–8 Cr fixed + STI + ESOP at listed platforms; Live-entertainment CEOs: ₹3–6 Cr + event-P&L STI; Head of A&R: ₹1.5–3.5 Cr; Head of Digital / Streaming: ₹2–4 Cr; Head of Live / Concerts: ₹2–4.5 Cr + event-P&L STI; Head of IP Festivals: ₹2–4 Cr + festival-P&L STI; Head of Ticketing Platform: ₹2.5–5 Cr + ESOP.
Roles We Typically Place
Why Gladwin International Leadership Advisors for Music & Live Entertainment
CEO / MD searches at music labels and live-entertainment platforms
Head of A&R and Head of Non-Film Music searches
Head of Digital / Streaming Partnerships searches
Head of Live / Concerts / Tours / IP Festivals searches
Head of Ticketing Platform and Head of Experience searches
Head of Publishing & Synchronisation searches
Chief Marketing Officer with live-entertainment brand credibility
Organisations We Serve
Music labels — T-Series (Super Cassettes), Saregama (RPSG-owned, listed), Zee Music, Sony Music India, Universal Music India, Warner Music India, Times Music, Tips Industries
Streaming platforms — Spotify India, JioSaavn, Gaana, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Wynk Music
Live-entertainment promoters — BookMyShow Live, Percept Live, JetSynthesys Live, Paytm Insider / District, Live Nation India, Only Much Louder (OML), Sunburn (Percept), NH7 Weekender
Ticketing platforms — BookMyShow, District (Zomato), Paytm Insider
IP festivals — Lollapalooza India (BookMyShow), Sunburn, NH7 Weekender, Magnetic Fields, Echoes of Earth, Ziro
Artist-management / publishing — OML Artists, Big Bang Music, Tune Patrol, Warner Chappell India, Sony Music Publishing India
Music & Live Entertainment leaders assessed on the Media & Entertainment “SPECTRUM” framework
Seven dimensions calibrated for media, entertainment, and sports leadership. Dimensions are calibrated for music & live entertainment mandates where relevant.
Parent Practice
Return to Media, Entertainment & Sports
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