SUMMARY
New York-Based Senvest Management LLC And Los Angeles’ Global Entertainment Company Endeavor Will Join Saavn, As Strategic Investors
New York-based online music distribution platform Saavn has roped in two new global investors, New York-based Senvest Management LLC and Los Angeles’ global entertainment company Endeavor to empower its global reach.
Founded by Paramdeep Singh, Rishi Malhotra and Vinodh Bhat in 2007, Saavn, primarily known for Indian music distribution, is now focusing to enrich global music distribution and partnership. The company had earlier raised undisclosed funding from Guy Oseary, manager of superstar talents like Madonna, U2, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Alicia Keys and Amy Schumer.
For Senvest, this will be the company’s first investment in India. Endeavor’s involvement would help strengthen ties between East-West music industries and further enable Saavn to grow its unique collaborations between Western and South Asian artists and producers, says the company statement.
Commenting on the new strategic investors, Rishi Malhotra, Cofounder and CEO, Saavn said, “Streaming audiences and digital revenue continue to grow on a global scale. Senvest and Endeavor represent exciting new investors for us and we’re honoured to be the platform that connects East and West. South Asian culture is truly global and borderless.”
After Amazon launched Alexa in India, Saavn has also teamed up with Amazon to use the Alexa Skills Kit to enable its music streaming on Amazon Echo devices. This marks Saavn’s first foray into the Voice UI space, which continues to grow as global tech companies prioritize the interface for Auto and Home.
Besides New York, Saavn has its offices in Mumbai, Gurgaon, Bengaluru and California. Currently catering to over 200 countries, the music distribution company’s investors include Tiger Global Management, Liberty Media, Bertelsmann Investments and Sound Ventures. Vodafone ex-CEO Arun Sarin has also invested in the company.
Despite having gone global, India remains the major market for the online music distribution app Saavn. iTunes, Google play music, Spotify, Times Internet’s Gaana, Hungama, Bharti Airtel’s Wynk are other major players in the segment competing with the company in India, and globally too. With Senvest and Endeavor, as its strategic partners, Saavn aims to create more chartbuster originals fusing South Asian with western music.
