Believe is celebrating two decades in the music industry culminating with an Indian Pop imprint launch in Mumbai.
Mumbai, IN – August 21, 2026 – Coinciding with its 20th global anniversary, global artist development company Believe India has announced the launch of its fourth music imprint, BL/UR, at a celebratory networking event for the music fraternity in the city.
Over the last few years, Believe India has built a multi-community talent incubation hub dedicated to identifying, nurturing and elevating independent talent in the country. Offering global positioning, strategic marketing and creative autonomy, Believe has been on a long journey to empower regional artists, helping them build sustainable, long-term careers.
Believe has previously launched three highly successful, genre-specific regional imprints, including Neue (Punjabi), Mahra Tora (Haryanvi), and Think Indie (Tamil Independent). Charting a new era, this established infrastructure sets the stage for its fourth major undertaking. The artist-development powerhouse is rewriting the blueprint for Indian pop by launching BL/UR, an imprint designed to blur in-country and global boundaries with a fresh, modern sound. The label will also serve as an exploration studio for artists and an alternative to commercial Bollywood music for listeners.
Believe is spotlighting its core philosophy of artist development in India through independent musicians signed-tracks and EPs, exclusive to the imprint. This includes Marathi pop artist Sanju Rathod, of ‘Gualbi Saadi’ and ‘Shaky’ fame; famed composer and producer Anurag Saikia, whose viral track ‘Ishq Hai’ for the third season of the series Mismatched saw over 269 million hits on Spotify alone.
Celebrating the imprint launch, Saikia dropped a brand new track ‘Badeela’, a thrilling first preview of his highly anticipated six-song pop EP, Pardesi – set to launch later this year. With ‘Badeela’, Anurag uses striking Rajasthani motifs to tell a story of the gentle, transformative power of love. Inspired by his travels, Anurag captures his experiences in Rajasthan as a pardesi in his new EP for BL/UR.
The new imprint will also see launches from lyrical poet and rapper Farhan Khan, having previously successfully blended qawwali music with various genres and desi hip-hop artist Khullar G. The imprint will also feature genre-fluid duo Rusha & Blizza, known for their distinctive fusion of electronic, Indian and global sounds, alongside Bali, the acclaimed rapper-songwriter known for his contemporary take on hip-hop.
A new generation of Indian artists are growing up without looking at identity as local or global. Their influences move seamlessly across genres and cultures, and their music reflects that. BL/UR was created to identify and develop artists defining this new chapter. The future of Indian pop will be shaped by the freedom to draw inspiration from everywhere while remaining unmistakably Indian”
Akhila Shankar
Director – Believe Artist Services India and South Asia
Our mission over the last two decades has been to democratise the music industry by giving artists the tools, platform and freedom to build audiences while staying true to their creative identity. BL/UR is a natural evolution of that vision. It reflects our belief that the future of Indian Pop lies in breaking down the boundaries between genres, sounds and influences, and giving artists the space to shape something entirely their own.”
Vivek Raina
Managing Director, Believe India & South Asia
“As we mark Believe’s 20th anniversary, BL/UR represents where we see Indian music heading next — a new generation of artists drawing from diverse cultural and global influences to create a sound that is distinctly contemporary, distinctly Indian, and built for a global audience.” said he added.
About Believe
Believe is one of the world’s leading digital music companies. Headquartered in Paris and operating in over 50 countries, Believe’s mission is to develop independent artists and labels in the digital world by providing them with the solutions they need to grow their audience at each stage of their career. In India, Believe and its sister platform TuneCore provide a comprehensive, tier-based ecosystem that supports creators from their very first bedroom demo to global stadium tours.
Believe is one global artist development company. We empower local independent artists, songwriters, labels, and publishers to scale their businesses and grow audiences at each stage of their career with expertise, respect, fairness, and transparency. Operating in over 50 countries with more than 2,000 employees, Believe provides a full range of services across recording, publishing, and distribution, offering bespoke solutions engineered for long-term career growth to champion creative independence. We nurture emerging talent and shape the future of local music scenes through our own brands. This unique model pairs on-the-ground local market intelligence with a cutting-edge global technology platform, maximizing royalty optimization and global reach through privileged partnerships with leading streaming platforms. Believe is a simplified joint-stock company under French law. Learn more at www.believe.com.
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Lizel Noronha
Strategic Communications Director, KAIO
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