All About Music 2024: A Glimpse into the Future of India’s Thriving Music Industry

The country’s foremost B2B music and entertainment conference centered around the burgeoning Indian music industry wrapped last week leaving attendees with a glimmering sense of optimism for what is to come—hosted over three days at The Grand Hyatt in Mumbai, the organizers at All About Music delivered on their promise of providing star power, expert insight and a platform for hopeful aspirants and seasoned veterans to converse with one another about the intricacies of the music business.

Having concluded their eighth edition this year, All About Music 2024 witnessed the likes of A.R. Rahman, Subhash Gai, Andrea Gleeson (CEO, TuneCore), and Grammy-winning sound engineer and mixer Alan Meyerson among several other torchbearers. Amid the hustle of this three-day conference, many were quick to point out the consistent, overarching themes throughout the duration of their well-scheduled time. It is safe to say that the talk of the town has unequivocally been the viral music video and track for Hanumankind and Kalmi’s “Big Dawgs”. In addition, conversations around the solidification of “I-Pop” as a genre, the importance of systematic female representation in the industry, and the future of Indian hip-hop were key elements of the conference.

From day one beginning with an immediate flurry of attendees – ranging from delegates, students and speakers – the conference kicked off knowing entirely of its goal to outmatch its previous editions in scale, scope and impact. A welcome note by Sabbas Joseph, Co-Founder and Director at Wizcraft International entertainment set the tone of innovation framing poetically with the larger theme of this year’s conference: Synthesis: Piece by Piece. The day followed suit with the likes of YouTube Music’s Paul Smith discussing the operational scale of their platform, Saregama’s managing director Vikram Mehra opining on monetization methods and, of course, A.R. Rahman offering wisdom wrapped in hopefulness for composers and musicians to believe in their abilities to set trends rather than merely chase them. A noteworthy moment during a panel hosted by Navjosh Singh titled “The Global Music Exchange: Bridging Cultural Divides Through Collaboration” was when Taylor Jones of The Hello Group publicly called out an overall lack of equitable songwriter crediting in the Indian music industry.

The highlight of day two was undoubtedly the panel titled “Beyond The Vocals” which brought together the powerful voices of Shreya Jain, Lisa Mishra, Nayantara Bhatkal, Nirmika Singh, and Sharin Bhatti to celebrate their journeys as women in the industry. Many were eager to witness similarly diverse panel curations for future editions of the conference.

It wasn’t just discussions and speaker panels at All About Music; the evenings were devoted to performances and showcases by both emerging and established artists. With talents like Yohan Marshall, Anuv Jain, Jasmine Sandlas, and many others, attendees were treated to an extraordinary musical experience.

In what was truly a multifaceted celebration of the touchpoints of the Indian music industry, the this year’s All About Music witnessed some of the most inquisitive, determined and forward-thinking minds of our country come together to pave the road for the next decade. From B2B operations to grass-roots level artist development, there was something for everyone at every stage of their career. As rightly stated by the newly viral rapper Hanumankind, the industry is primed to be “ten toes in” to ensure a fruitful future.