Universal Music India (UMI) has signed a strategic partnership with Dinesh Vijan-led production house Maddock Films to support the latter’s ‘Mad For Mussic’ label. The partnership entails UMI becoming the music label’s global strategic partner for future film soundtracks, other businesses and product offerings.

“Music is what Maddock Films’ feelings sound like. Music is also the soul of all our films. We are happy to announce Maddock Films’ own MAD music label, Mad For Mussic, to give back to music what music has given [to these films],” Dinesh Vijan, founder, Maddock Films, told Fortune India.

The announcement did not disclose the scope of the partnership, nor did it reveal the deal’s value.

Why is the announcement significant for Universal Music India?

With this partnership via its Indian arm, the global music entertainment company Universal Music Group aims to deepen its presence in India’s domestic film music, thereby trying to emulate the strategy followed by homegrown music companies like T-Series and Tips. Moreover, through UMG's extensive global network, it will provide Mad For Mussic’s catalogue with more international opportunities.

This announcement came on the day of the release of the production house’s latest film, Param Sundari on Friday. The music label for this film is UMI itself. This is the first time Maddock Films and UMI have partnered for a Dinesh Vijan film.

“This landmark partnership with Maddock Films signals a crucial step forward for our India business. Dinesh Vijan is not just a Hindi film industry veteran; he is a first-class storyteller with an unparalleled ear for music. It is a great privilege for UMI to be able to work on the studio’s forthcoming slate of films and bring even more incredible Hindi music to audiences the world over,” said Adam Granite, UMG’s CEO Africa, Middle East, and Asia, in a statement.

UMI has a long record of working with Hindi film soundtracks, and has worked on the music of films like Sholay, Deewar, Dostana, Yaarana, Julie, Saagar, Shaan, Blackmail, Khamoshi, Bombay, Devdas, and Sur.

“This is the perfect time and the perfect partner for us to re-enter the Indian film music space. We have enjoyed great success at UMI in making ipop and desi hiphop culturally relevant and globally resonant, and it’s time for us to give that same love and respect to film music. We couldn’t have hoped for a better partner than Dinesh and there is much more to come from us in this space,” said Devraj Sanyal, Chairman & CEO, India SA; SVP Strategy, Africa, M. East & Asia, UMI.

Why is this significant for Maddock Films?

Maddock Films has always been experimenting with music labels for its in-house films. Take the Stree franchise for instance. The soundtrack for the first part of the franchise, released in 2018, was under T-Series, however, the sequel was with Saregama Music. Similarly, while the big budget and multi-starrer films of the horror comedy universe of this production house were produced by different labels, the music distribution rights for low-budget films from this universe, including Munjya and Bhediya, were with Zee Music Company.

“We live and abide by the ‘Content-first’ approach. Our cinema is the cinema of real India – emanating from the smallest of towns and impacting audiences in the biggest of cities – in India and abroad. Music is – and has always been – one of the central pillars of my films. UMG is a perfect partner for our ambitions, as we step into the next growth phase of Maddock, developing some of the most sought-after movie franchises and creating new genres,” Vijan said.

The partnership hints that the future films of the production house could be under Vijan’s own label, thereby enabling UMI and Vijan to own the music themselves. 

This could then act as an added revenue stream for Vijan and his production house.