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Adapting To Greater Accessibility
The Weekend Playlist
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Good morning.
Digital platforms have brought everything within reach, be it something as simple as music to something as complicated as investing. But, is wider participation a guarantee of lasting value?
Sid Swaminathan explains why India’s mutual fund industry must now move beyond simply adding investors and help them build portfolios that can withstand different market conditions. Victoria Oakley looks at a similar transition in music, where streaming has expanded access but has also raised harder questions around paid subscriptions, AI licensing, fraudulent plays and who ultimately earns from consumption.
The world is moving at an unprecedented pace, creating possibilities that existing regulations and commercial arrangements were not designed to handle, that institutions need to catch up with.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jio BlackRock’s Risk-Return Bet
ICYMI: Revisiting an episode where financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj spoke with Sid Swaminathan of Jio BlackRock AMC, about the company’s entry into India’s asset management market and what it signals for mutual funds, wealth management and brokerage.
In this episode, Swaminathan says that he sees India as an under penetrated market as compared to developed markets, with mutual fund assets still a small share of GDP, even as retail participation is rising quickly. He explained why India’s asset management market is entering a new phase. The first phase was about access, getting more Indians into mutual funds through SIPs, digital platforms and easier investing journeys.
He sees that the next phase may be about outcomes, where investors look beyond basic equity exposure and start building stronger portfolios that can handle rising markets, falling markets and sideways markets. This is where technology, systematic investing, digital distribution and newer products like SIFs come in as ways to manage risk and deliver more consistent outcomes.
Key Insight
India’s mutual fund boom is no longer about just investment, but rather about staying invested despite volatility.
THE CORE QUIZ
Who was appointed to head the task force to reform India's examination system? |
THE MEDIA ROOM
The Hidden Economics Behind Streaming Royalties
India has hundreds of millions of music listeners. Why has it been harder to turn that appetite into a paying market?
In this episode of The Media Room, Vanita Kohli-Khandekar speaks with Victoria Oakley of IFPI, about how streaming, generative AI and fraudulent plays are reshaping the recorded music business. India’s music revenues grew 4.6% last year, but consumption still depends heavily on free, advertising-funded platforms rather than subscriptions. The expansion of ad-supported streaming is beginning to dilute average revenue per user, raising concerns about the long-term balance between free access and subscription-driven income.
Another concern of the industry is the rise of artificial intelligence. While it has now become easier than ever to access music from anywhere in the world, AI penetrates from both generation and consumption. AI models can use existing recordings to generate competing music, while bots can divert royalties through artificial streams. Both developments test whether platforms can identify genuine creation, consumption and ownership.
Key Insight
The next step for record labels is to invest in talent, negotiate rights and ensure that revenue reaches the people whose work created the market.
SPOTIFY UNLOCK
Longer lives. Rising costs. Market volatility. Uncertain returns.
The assumptions that once shaped retirement planning are being challenged, and the rules of long-term wealth creation are changing with them.
The Core, in partnership with Spotify Unlock, invites a select group of senior leaders, founders and investors to a closed-door conversation on Building Wealth for a Longer Life, moderated by Govindraj Etihraj in conversation with Saurabh Mukherjea, Founder & CIO, Marcellus Investment Managers.
August 25, 2026 | 8:30 AM | Lower Parel, Mumbai
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