T-Series

T-Series (Super Cassettes Industries Private Limited) is India's largest music label and movie studio, founded in 1983 by Gulshan Kumar in New Delhi. Now led by Bhushan Kumar (Chairman and Managing Director) and Krishan Kumar, T-Series is primarily known for Bollywood music soundtracks and Indi-pop music. Its YouTube channel has 314 million subscribers and 350 billion views, making it the most-subscribed music channel on the platform. T-Series holds over 35,000 audio titles and 2,000 video titles across multiple Indian languages, with 5,800 film and combination titles. Neeraj Kalyan serves as President.

T-Series built its reputation on Bollywood film soundtracks and devotional music. Founded by Gulshan Kumar as a small cassette business, T-Series grew into India's largest music label through its aggressive acquisition of Bollywood soundtrack rights and its early adoption of digital distribution. The label's YouTube channel (launched 2006) became the most-subscribed channel on the platform, surpassing PewDiePie in 2019. T-Series holds audio and video copyrights for 42 Hindi films in production and has 1,482 exclusively signed artists. Its captive talent pool includes composers and playback singers like Himesh Reshammiya, Adnan Sami, Jagjit Singh (catalog), Lata Mangeshkar (catalog), Asha Bhosle (catalog), Sonu Nigam, and Udit Narayan.

The label's most-watched video is "Shree Hanuman Chalisa," uploaded on May 10, 2011. Featuring founder Gulshan Kumar with vocals by Hariharan and music by Lalit Sen, the nine-minute devotional video became the first Indian video to surpass 5 billion views on YouTube in November 2025. It is the only Indian upload to reach this milestone and ranks among the top 10 most-viewed videos on the platform globally.

Notable Artists and Releases

T-Series's catalog spans over four decades of Bollywood film music, Indi-pop, and devotional music. The label's most significant artists and releases include:

• Gulshan Kumar (catalog, founder): Founded T-Series in 1983 as a cassette business. Produced devotional music including "Shree Hanuman Chalisa" (2011), which became the first Indian video to surpass 5 billion YouTube views. Kumar was assassinated in 1997.
• Lata Mangeshkar (catalog): One of the most recorded playback singers in history. Thousands of recordings on T-Series across decades of Bollywood film music.
• Asha Bhosle (catalog): Legendary playback singer with thousands of Bollywood recordings on T-Series.
• Sonu Nigam (active): Playback singer with numerous Bollywood hits on T-Series. President Neeraj Kalyan clarified in 2014 that T-Series had not signed any agreement with Nigam in the past five years, noting that singer agreements are between singers and film producers.
• Udit Narayan (active): Playback singer with numerous Bollywood hits on T-Series across multiple decades.
• Himesh Reshammiya (active): Composer and singer signed to T-Series. Has composed soundtracks for numerous Bollywood films released through the label.
• Arijit Singh (active): One of Bollywood's most popular playback singers. T-Series releases include "Aur Mohabbat Kitni Karoon" from Metro...In Dino (2025), "Satyanaas" from Chandu Champion (2024) with 41 million views, "Tere Ishk Mein" (2025) composed by A.R. Rahman, and "O'Romeo" (2026) composed by Vishal Bhardwaj with lyrics by Gulzar.
• Dhvani Bhanushali (active): "Vaaste" (2019) has 1.7 billion YouTube views, making it one of the most-viewed Indian music videos on the platform. The song was composed by Tanishk Bagchi and directed by Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru.
• Vishal Mishra (active): "Pehle Bhi Main" from Animal (2023) has 418 million YouTube views. The film starred Ranbir Kapoor and was directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga.

Three of T-Series's most-watched music videos are embedded below. "Vaaste" by Dhvani Bhanushali (2019) was the 10th most liked music video worldwide on YouTube for 2019 and was featured in YouTube Rewind 2019. "Pehle Bhi Main" from Animal (2023) starring Ranbir Kapoor has accumulated 418 million views. "Tum Se" from Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya (2024) starring Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon has 248 million views.

How T-Series Operates

T-Series runs dedicated A&R under Chairman and Managing Director Bhushan Kumar from its New Delhi headquarters. It is self-distributed (both digital and physical), giving it complete control over its distribution. The label's strength is its dominance of Bollywood soundtrack rights and its YouTube channel (314 million subscribers, 350 billion views). Its model combines music label, film production, and merchandising operations. The label's extensive catalog spans multiple Indian languages, covering the length and breadth of India.

Deal Structures and Royalties

T-Series operates a vertically integrated model that differs from Western label structures. Its deal structures include:

• Soundtrack acquisition: T-Series acquires audio and video rights for Bollywood film soundtracks from film producers. Music directors are paid a lumpsum fee by the producer for composing the soundtrack, and the producer then sells the audio rights to T-Series. Top industry composers can negotiate a percentage of revenues that T-Series generates from the music, including streaming and licensing income.
• Artist management contracts: T-Series signs artists through exclusive artist management contracts, reported as seven-year terms. These contracts cover shows, film songs, album songs, compositions, concerts, and personal appearances. Artists are free to sing or compose for other production houses but must obtain prior written consent from T-Series (Super Cassettes Industries Private Limited).
• Royalty structure: Under Indian law (Copyright Act, 1957), record labels are entitled to 50% of royalties from ownership of sound recordings. This can be negotiated in contracts. Singers are typically paid a one-time lumpsum payment for their performance rather than ongoing royalties, a practice that has been contested by the Indian Singers Rights Association (ISRA). Composers and lyricists have stronger statutory royalty rights under the 2012 amendment to the Copyright Act.
• Self-distribution: T-Series is self-distributed for both digital and physical releases. The label uploads directly to YouTube, Spotify, JioSaavn, Apple Music, Gaana, Amazon Prime Music, Wynk, and YouTube Music. This gives T-Series complete control over its release pipeline and revenue, without paying distribution fees to third parties.
• YouTube as primary revenue driver: With 314 million subscribers and 350 billion views, T-Series's YouTube channel is a primary revenue source. The label uploads music videos, full song videos, audio tracks, and lyric videos. Its most-viewed uploads include "Shree Hanuman Chalisa" (5 billion views), "Vaaste" (1.7 billion views), and numerous Bollywood soundtrack videos with hundreds of millions of views each.
• Film production: T-Series produces Hindi films through T-Series Films, holding audio and video copyrights for 42 films in production. This vertical integration ensures that the label controls both the music and the visual content it distributes.

Why It Matters for Independent Artists

If you make Bollywood, Indi-pop, or Indian devotional music, T-Series is India's largest music label and movie studio, with the most-subscribed YouTube channel in the world. Its dominance of Bollywood soundtrack rights gives it unmatched reach in Indian film music. Its self-distribution model gives it complete control over its releases. Its 1,482 exclusively signed artists represent one of the largest talent pools in the global music industry.

Drawbacks and Things to Consider

• Bollywood focus: T-Series primarily signs Bollywood and Indian film music. Artists outside that ecosystem may find it less relevant.
• No unsolicited demos: T-Series does not accept cold submissions.
• India focus: The label's primary activity is in India. International artists may find it less relevant.
• Large roster: With 1,482 exclusively signed artists, individual attention may be limited.

Related Resources

• Record Label Contracts Explained - What a T-Series deal contains
• How to Get a Record Deal in 2026 - Building a Bollywood music profile
• Music Publishing Explained - Indian publishing structures
• Zee Music Company - A competing Indian music label
• Sony Music Entertainment - A global major label that competes with T-Series in India
• Universal Music Group - A global major label with presence in the Indian market
• HYBE - A large Asian music and entertainment company
• SM Entertainment - A Korean entertainment company with a comparable integrated model
• T-Series Official Site - Roster and releases
• T-Series YouTube Channel - 314 million subscribers, 350 billion views