AWAL has named Amazon alumnus Aniket Parpillewar its new Head for India and South Asia, as the company touts its growing role in the region’s indie music with a slew of new signings.
Parpillewar will be based in Mumbai and report jointly to AWAL COO Paul Hitchman and Vinit Thakkar, Managing Director of Sony Music Entertainment India.
He joins AWAL from Amazon India, where he served as Head of Music at Prime Video and Amazon Studios. His new role will be to “continue to spread the AWAL mission of empowering independent-minded artists in the region,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday (March 11).
The company also announced a number of new “high-potential” signings, including Zanai Bhosle, Anumita Nadesan, Dino James, Wolf.Cryman, Shreya Jain, Euphoria, Utsavi Jha, and D Imaan.
Parpillewar’s appointment comes two years after AWAL expanded into India with the acquisition of OKListen, a Mumbai-headquartered digital music platform for indie labels and musicians, and four years after Sony Music completed its acquisition of AWAL.
AWAL’s expansion in South Asia is happening with the support of Sony Music Entertainment India, the company noted on Tuesday.
“AWAL has always been global in outlook and, with Sony Music’s support, we are now able to take a significant step in extending the AWAL model and services to artists in India and South Asia,” AWAL CEO Lonny Olinick said.
Credit: Yuri Hasegawa
“With Sony Music’s support, we are now able to take a significant step in extending the AWAL model and services to artists in India and South Asia.”
Lonny Olinick, AWAL
Added Olinick: “Aniket brings a wealth of music experience in the Indian market to the AWAL team and has hit the ground running with the signings of both established and breaking artists. We look forward to working closely with Aniket and his team, and our partners at Sony Music India, to empower artists in India to reach their full potential both in the South Asia market and beyond.”
Sony India’s Thakkar added the company is “thrilled to support AWAL’s expansion” in India.
“Aniket’s leadership and AWAL’s unique approach to artist development perfectly complements our own commitment to nurturing local talent,” he said.
“We believe this partnership will be instrumental in empowering independent artists and driving the growth of the Indian music industry on a global scale.”
“We believe this partnership will be instrumental in empowering independent artists and driving the growth of the Indian music industry on a global scale.”
Vinit Thakkar, Sony Music Entertainment India
Parpillewar added: “This is an exciting time for music, with artists having more power and possibilities than ever before. At AWAL, we believe in helping creators stay true to their vision while enabling them to make their talent seen and heard worldwide.
“India is bursting with talent and untold stories. I truly believe the next wave of global music will come from here, led by fearless, boundary-breaking artists. Our vision is to empower these artists with freedom and resources they need to craft their own narratives, redefining success on their own terms.”
Parpillewar’s appointment comes in the wake of a series of moves by Sony to expand its presence in the rapidly growing South Asian music market.
In 2024, Sony inked a deal with Maddock Films, a Mumbai-based film and web series production company. The deal includes producing film soundtracks and indie pop singles.
“India is bursting with talent and untold stories. I truly believe the next wave of global music will come from here, led by fearless, boundary-breaking artists.”
Aniket Parpillewar, AWAL
A year earlier, Sony inked a publishing deal with Indian label Big Bang Music, under which SMP administers and promotes Big Bang’s songs globally.
In 2022, Sony Music Entertainment formed a joint venture with Sony Pictures Entertainment, dubbed ‘Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India’ (SETVI), an entertainment company focused on creating “ventures for media talent in India”.
Most recently, Sony Music Publishingextended a partnership it initially signed with India’s Tips Music in 2023, which gives SMP the rights to Tips’ catalog of more than 23,000 tracks. The new deal extends to distribution on YouTube worldwide, excluding India.Music ComeOn
