MTV India and T-Series partner for reality show MTV Hustle

New Delhi: MTV India and music label T-Series have struck a global deal for rap reality television show, MTV Hustle, as part of which all original music created for the first three seasons will be distributed worldwide by the latter.

“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. T-series is a pioneer in the world of Indian music. 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 at Viacom18, said in a statement.

Bhushan Kumar, managing director and chairman, T-Series, said the music that MTV Hustle has created resonates well with audiences. “Our partnership with the show is in line with our vision to grow the Indian music market and make it available to global audiences. We are excited on this partnership as it is the first of its kind for us too. We look forward to providing existing and new content and talent the right stage and platform while helping them in their musical journey,” Kumar said in a statement.

MTV Hustle has launched performers like King, EPR, MC Square, Srushti Tawde and Paradox, besides producing over 100 original compositions across music genres including Bollywood, Sufi, Folk and Regional rap.

MTV India, part of the youth, music and English entertainment vertical at Viacom18 is trying to build on its niche offerings by spawning regional language versions of flagship IPs (intellectual properties), to extend reach among the youth beyond the Hindi-speaking market, and target territories such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Further, the company sees much value in both content and music properties that it says, witness much engagement across linear television, social media and its video streaming platform JioCinema. The network is known primarily for reality shows such as Roadies, Splitsvilla and Hustle.