Amid Sony Music suing a fashion app for alleged unauthorised use of its songs, Hoopr founder Gaurav Dagaonkar decodes how brands can easily purchase tracks from the portal with its pay-as-you-go model
Gaurav Dagaonkar
In April, Sony Music filed a copyright infringement case against online shopping platform Myntra in the Bombay High Court. The music label demanded R5 crore in damages, alleging that the portal had used various sound recordings from its library in an unauthorised manner. The case brought to light an issue that is plaguing the music world — in India’s rising creator economy, brands and influencers use music without proper licensing. The consequences? Legal risks for brands, possible takedowns for creators, and lost revenue for artistes and music labels.
As confusion and copyright issues reign in such a scenario, Gaurav Dagaonkar, along with Meghna Mittal, has founded Mumbai-based brand Hoopr that offers legal music access to brands. The strategy is simple. Hoopr boasts a catalogue of over 18,000 pre-cleared tracks that users can purchase in a pay-as-you-go model. “Almost 87 per cent of Indian branded content uses unlicensed music,” he starts. “We legalise access to a wide catalogue of Bollywood and local music, offering flexible options like subscriptions from Rs 249 per month or pay-per-track licensing via our portal. Everything is legally compliant and artistes are fairly compensated. For brands, this means elimination of legal repercussions.”
Since its launch, Hoopr has tied up with many music labels to build a vast library, says Dagaonkar. He believes the portal’s model resolves traditional music licensing’s four major challenges: discovery, timeliness, relevance, and affordability. “Brands often struggle to find tracks that are suited to their campaign needs, and when they do, gaining timely access is difficult. Relevance is also key. Plus, affordability becomes a barrier, as licensing directly from labels can range from R2 lakh to R50 lakh for a popular track. Our app solves all these issues, enabling brands to license music in under 15 minutes—something that typically takes one to two weeks through traditional channels. Boasting over 18,000 pre-cleared tracks from YRF Music and 17-plus music partners, and with pay-as-you-go pricing per track, we offer a more affordable alternative to licensing.”
Rs 8,000-10,000 cr
Estimated losses that, Dagaonkar says, the Indian music industry suffers annually due to unauthorised music use
Rs 3,000
Cost of licensing one track in Hoopr’s pay-as-you-go pricing model
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