If we were given a rupee every time we received a press release that mentions the word \u201cstrategic\u201d before the word \u201cpartnership\u201d, we\u2019d have more in our bank accounts than what your average south Asian independent artist gets from their monthly streams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week, it\u2019s Universal Music India and Hindi movie production house Maddock Films\u2014best known as the makers of the horror comedies Stree <\/em>(2018) and Stree 2 <\/em>(2024), Bhediya<\/em> (2022) and Munjya <\/em>(2024)\u2014that have entered into a strategic partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s for Maddock\u2019s newly formed label Mad For Mussic and will cover \u201cfuture film soundtracks and other businesses and product offerings\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n The partnership kicked off, before the official announcement, at the end of July with the release of the single \u201cPardesiya\u201d from the soundtrack to the Bollywood movie Param Sundari<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The track\u2014composed by long-time Maddock collaborators, Sachin-Jigar\u2014has reached the top five of Spotify\u2019s Top India Songs chart so far, and has drawn comparisons to the 1990s hit \u201cKehna Hi Kya\u201d from A. R. Rahman\u2019s OST for Bombay<\/em> (1995) for its close resemblance to that tune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sachin-Jigar have called \u201cPardesiya\u201d their tribute to Rahman, who has not been credited on the track, though notably, Universal Music owns the rights to the soundtrack of Bombay<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n As such, the deal with Maddock Films marks the Universal Music Group\u2019s return to Hindi film music after more than two decades, during which time the major\u2019s offices in India have focused on building its pop and hip-hop repertoire in Hindi, English and various regional languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maddock, meanwhile, entered into a similar tie-up with Sony Music Entertainment India in June 2024, in a deal that included \u201cfilm soundtracks and indie pop singles\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That partnership was quoted by the production house\u2019s founder Dinesh Vijan as being for \u201cthe next two years<\/a>\u201d, implying that Maddock currently has collaborations with both of the world\u2019s biggest music labels\u2019 Indian outposts.<\/p>\n\n