The lord of the playlist: Spotify India MD Amarjit Singh Batra on building a music streaming business from scratch
Amarjit Singh Batra refers to himself as a “big-time bathroom singer”. The general manager for South Asia, Middle East and Africa and managing director at the music streaming service Spotify India never trained as a singer as a child but had a naturally gifted voice, which meant he was always asked to sing at weddings and family gatherings.
“Now I’m in the (music) industry and dealing with professional singers so I just keep quiet,” chuckles the 58-year-old. “I don’t consider myself a good singer, just somebody who can sing a little bit.
But I grew up with a lot of passion for music and used to be a huge fan of Mohammed Rafi.”The chic Spotify office in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) area, where the bright lighting changes colour as you walk through the corridor, stands in contrast to Batra’s calm and understated demeanour. He smiles often, laughs easily and checks frequently if he should continue speaking.Music along with sports and travel was one of the three defining features of Batra’s early life, who was born in Jalandhar, Punjab, and grew up in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi, among other places thanks to his army officer father moving cities.
After graduating in industrial engineering from Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College in Ludhiana, Batra opted for an MBA from UBS (University Business School), Panjab University, Chandigarh.Following this, he spent a few years in startups and international trading before moving to online marketplace Baazee India Pvt. Ltd as associate director in 2003.
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