A month after launching its Mumbai-based subsidiary PopIndia, Reservoir Media has completed its first catalog acquisition in India. The company has acquired the publishing and master rights to the entire Musicraft Entertainment catalog.
The acquisition includes more than 1,000 recordings across decades and genres, along with Musicraft’s YouTube channel, which has over 3 million subscribers. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 1980, Musicraft is recognized for its “Indie Bollywood” music—Bollywood-style arrangements created outside of traditional film soundtracks—and a large number of Qawwali songs, a devotional music form that remains popular across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
The catalog includes recordings by a number of regional artists. Among them is Qawwali singer Ashok Zakhmi, whose four-decade career includes performances throughout India. His duet with Tina Parveen, “Mast Jawani Teri Mujhko Pagal Kar Gayi Re,” has gained over 305 million views on YouTube. Other featured performers include Gyasuddin Warsi, Majid Shola, M. Aaga Fankar, Usman Taj, Kausar Sabri, Anwar Jani, Afsar Azad, and Yusuf Azad.
Aparna Shah, Director of Musicraft’s parent company, Tanatan Talkies Music Pvt Ltd, commented on the partnership. “Over the years, we have proudly built a catalog that represents the diverse music and listeners of India. We are excited to be partnering with PopIndia to help amplify these songs and bring them to an even broader audience.”
Reservoir introduced PopIndia in April 2025 to sign and develop regional talent, while also acquiring music catalogs. The subsidiary is also responsible for sub-publishing Reservoir’s global music catalogs in India and South Asia, in addition to offering supervision and rights management services.
PopIndia is led by Spek, Executive Vice President of International and Emerging Markets at Reservoir, following a 2020 partnership between Reservoir and PopArabia, a company founded by Spek in 2011.
Speaking on the Musicraft acquisition, Spek said it represents an important step for PopIndia as it expands into the Indian market. “This marks a major step forward for PopIndia, our first full catalog acquisition, covering over a thousand recordings that span decades of Indian music. What drew us to Musicraft was the quality and historical range of the repertoire, from commercial pop music to genres like Qawwali that reflect the subcontinent’s deep musical roots. Our strategy in India is focused on long-term value creation, and that starts with investing in catalogs that matter, both culturally and commercially. We see a growing global appetite for Indian music, and this deal positions us to meet that demand with credible, well-curated content.”
