MTV India and T-Series collaborate for a rap reality television show, MTV Hustle. Launched in 2019 by MTV India, the show brought India’s underground rap music to the country’s mainstream landscape. An initiative by a non-fiction IP in India, the partnership will entail exclusive music rights for worldwide distribution, thereby serving the show’s vision of building industry-ready rap professionals and powering up their professional journeys at a global scale.
As a part of the three-season deal, all original music created from Seasons one, two and three will be distributed globally by T-Series, providing reach to the diverse body of work by MTV Hustle. Desi hip-hop and rap culture will be further catalysed globally by T-Series through multi-platform distribution including its YouTube channel ranking number one with over 238 million subscribers across continents, music channels, audio streaming platforms and many more.
“MTV Hustle 2.0 has pioneered India’s hip-hop revolution. Its cultural impact in the sub-continent has been multi-fold, making rap the choice of expression for contemporary youth voices. This is a natural partnership that will catapult South Asian hip-hop onto the world stage,” Anshul Ailawadi, business head – youth, music, and english entertainment, Viacom18, said.
MTV Hustle 2.0 has produced more than 100 original compositions in under 10 weeks and has driven inclusivity in music genres including Bollywood, Sufi, Folk and Regional rap.
“The music that MTV Hustle has created resonates well with the audiences and surely deserves to get its due credit and recognition. Our partnership with the show is in line with our vision to grow the Indian music market and make it available to global audiences,” Bhushan Kumar, managing director and chairman, T-Series, said.
With a focus on talent, performance, meter, technique, musicality, and storytelling, MTV Hustle has launched fresh voices from India’s evolving rap subculture and youth music. As the rap battleground in India, MTV Hustle has launched successful performers including King, EPR, and more. Performers like MC Square, Srushti Tawde and Paradox have tasted success through the launch pad, vaulting from limited local recognition to multi-million fandom on social media within a few months with brand partnerships, collaborations with industry names and international exposure.