How to start a music label in India: a practical 2026 guide
By the SUF Digitals team · Updated
Starting a music label in India takes five things: a name you can protect, a business with a PAN and a bank account, written agreements with your artists, a distributor that releases under your label name, and a clean way to pay royalties. You can release your first song under your own label within weeks, and the paperwork can grow with you.
1. Decide what kind of label you are starting
Many labels start as an imprint: a label name on releases by one artist or a small group, run by one person. Others are companies that sign artists, pay for recordings and own the masters. Decide which you are, because it changes your agreements and how money moves.
Either way, the label is the name in the P line (the sound recording) and the C line (the artwork and packaging) of every release.
2. Set up the business
You can run a label as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, an LLP or a private limited company. Most new labels start as a proprietorship or LLP and move to a company when they take on investors or partners.
- PAN and a current account in the business name, so royalties and payments to artists run through the label.
- GST registration becomes mandatory once your turnover from services crosses Rs 20 lakh a year (Rs 10 lakh in special category states). You can register earlier by choice.
- Udyam (MSME) registration is optional and free, and can help with banking and schemes.
| Structure | Good for | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietorship | One owner starting small | Simplest to set up; the owner is personally liable. |
| Partnership or LLP | Two or more founders | An LLP limits each partner's liability and needs annual filings. |
| Private limited company | Raising money, bigger rosters | More compliance, easier to bring in investors. |
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. A chartered accountant or lawyer can confirm what fits your situation.
3. Protect the label name
Search the trademark registry before you commit to a name, then apply to register it. Music labels usually file in class 9 (recorded music) and class 41 (entertainment services). Make sure the name is not already used by another label on Spotify or JioSaavn.
4. Sign proper agreements with your artists
- Who owns the recordings (the masters) and for how long.
- The territory and the term of the deal.
- The royalty split, how often it is paid and how statements are shared.
- Any advance, and how it is recouped from the artist's royalties.
- Credits, approvals and what happens to the songs when the deal ends.
- Who registers songwriting with IPRS and how publishing income is shared.
5. Get ISRC and UPC codes
Every recording needs an ISRC and every release needs a UPC. Your distributor can issue both free with each release. If you want your own ISRC prefix, India's national ISRC agency is Indian Music Industry (IMI), which issues registrant codes. Read ISRC and UPC explained.
6. Choose distribution built for a label
A label plan lets you release for your whole roster under one account, with your label name on every release. On SUF Digitals, label plans start at Rs 4,999 a year with unlimited releases, artist logins where each artist sees only their own songs and receives their share directly, consolidated statements, bulk catalogue import, and caller tunes on Jio, Airtel, Vi and BSNL across the roster.
7. Collect the other royalties
Distribution collects royalties for the recordings on streaming and download stores. Two other streams need their own registrations. Songwriters and music publishers collect performance royalties for the compositions through IPRS, the Indian Performing Right Society; read IPRS registration, explained. Public performance of the sound recordings themselves, such as music played in shops, hotels and on radio, is licensed by PPL, Phonographic Performance Limited, which labels can join as owners of recordings.
8. Pay artists cleanly
Send every artist a statement for each period that matches what the stores reported, pay on a fixed schedule, and deduct TDS where the law requires it on royalty payments. A distributor that pays each artist's share directly to their own account saves most of this work and most disputes.
Common questions
Do I need to register a company to start a music label?
No. You can start as a sole proprietor with a PAN and bank account and put your label name on releases. Register a company when you bring in partners or investors.
How much does it cost to start a music label in India?
The essentials are a trademark application, a bank account and a distribution plan. SUF Digitals label plans start at Rs 4,999 a year with unlimited releases. Recording, artwork and marketing are the bigger costs.
Can my label release songs by artists on other labels?
Only with written permission from whoever owns those recordings. Distributors check rights before delivering.
Can artists on my label see their own earnings?
On SUF Digitals, yes: each artist can have their own login showing only their songs and their share, paid to them directly.
Keep reading
Running a label?
Label plans start at Rs 4,999 a year with artist logins and consolidated statements.
See label distribution