MUMBAI: Sony Music India announced today the appointment of Jagjit Singh Bhogal as Head of A&R to further strengthen the company’s position in the rapidly growing Independent music market, across multiple Indian languages. Bhogal will lead the Company’s A&R department and collaborate with Sony Music Entertainment’s global artist development teams to discover and expand new music talent. He will also grow the Company’s existing artist portfolio across languages, with a special focus on garnering worldwide exposure for Indian artists.

Bhogal brings more than 15 years of experience and creative leadership to Sony Music India. He has steered market-leading companies in the music and entertainment business including Viacom18 India where he led the Music Content Business, A&R and Music IP for MTV India. He has been instrumental in bringing some of the most iconic music-driven shows into the country - ‘Coke Studio’, ‘MTV Unplugged’, ‘Sound Trippin’ & ‘Spoken Word’ - and collaborated with world-renowned home-grown music talent such as AR Rahman, Amit Trivedi, Shankar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam, and Arijit Singh to name a few.

“Sony Music India continues to prioritize its investments in the rapidly evolving independent music space. Jagjit’s work spans music genres from mainstream to independent, Sufi – Folk, Electronic, Hip Hop and World Music,” said Rajat Kakar, Managing Director, Sony Music India. “He strives for music excellence and has created sounds that resonate across varied consumer tastes, enhancing the experience for music fans globally. His appointment represents the latest step in our Company’s artist-first A&R approach and his creativity, relationships and energy will help our artists grow.”

Bhogal’s creative leadership has also showcased some of India’s best-known songs, sounds, chart-topping collaborations and artists to date, including Ki Banu Duniya Da (Gurdas Maan and Diljit Dosanjh on ‘Coke Studio India’) and Tung Tung (Nooran Sisters and Sneha Khanvalkar for ‘Sound Trippin’).

“I am really excited to be part of Sony Music which takes an artist-centric approach and has continuously pushed the boundaries of music for decades now,” added Bhogal. I look forward to expanding Sony Music’s repertoire with more home-grown talent and a strong flavor of local culture which excites music lovers both here and around the world.”

Bhogal is the latest hire in support of Sony Music India’s strategy to grow its industry-leading market share across the Bollywood, South Indian, Punjabi, Pop, and kids-based Indian music industry; build its premium content business, and develop new One Sony opportunities with its sister Sony companies.