India on the world map: How Bhushan Kumar made T-Series a global entertainment behemoth, YouTube's No 1 channel

T-Series honcho Bhushan Kumar has successfully transformed the music company to a global entertainment behemoth.

T- Series hit a significant milestone recently when it briefly dethroned several noteworthy competitors to reign as the No 1 channel on YouTube. Its journey from a fledgling music company to a leading production house has been impressive and was recently praised by Sean Park, marketing director of YouTube International Markets, at the recently held Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART). Acknowledging the popularity of their content on YouTube, Park complimented the company’s efforts to stay relevant to a fast-evolving audience.

Having taken over the reins of the T-Series empire after his father Gulshan Kumar’s demise in 1997, Bhushan Kumar redefined the way the Indian music industry functioned. Taking over the business at the young age of 19, Kumar carefully charted out a path for the company, exponentially increasing its reach and making it one of the biggest corporate giants in the music industry today.


In over two decades of helming the company as Chairman and Managing Director of T-Series, Kumar introduced several firsts in the industry and guided it to fresher paths. While executing his vision at such a young age was not always an easy task, Kumar maintains that whatever he has achieved so far is because of the lessons he has picked up ‘on the job’.



It was Kumar’s father’s dream to see T-Series prosper globally, and since he has taken the helm, Kumar has constantly devised ways to make it come true. He took T-Series from a music-centric business and moulded it into a broader entertainment conglomerate — a one-stop shop offering music production, music acquisitions, movie production to marketing and distribution all under one roof. Set on reviving the independent music scene, the dynamic entrepreneur has also directed a large amount of his production to making singles and non-film music. He has invested in several solo and joint productions and ensures that no venture compromises on quality, be it domestic or global. Kumar introduced music promotions on digital platforms and also made the first move to lock a digital deal with Hungama.

With an exceptional run at global markets with 'Hindi Medium', 'Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety', 'Aashiqui 2', 'Raid', amongst others, T-Series has a total of 18 films lined up in the coming year and several under production for 2020 already lined up. With 'Bharat', 'De De Pyaar De', 'Saaho', 'Street Dancer', 'Kabir Singh', 'Tanhaji', 'Batla House', 'Marjaavaan', Kumar has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the industry to deliver new, interesting and varied content to the audience. With his keen intelligence and strong management instincts, Kumar has emerged as an indigenous achiever spreading T-Series across a broad spectrum as he continues to dominate and influence the industry in a major way.