Hoopr Secures Pre-Series A Funding to Scale Music Licensing SaaS in India

The Indian creator economy is undergoing a professionalization phase where the demand for copyright-safe, high-quality music has transitioned from a luxury to a legal necessity. Hoopr’s latest funding round, led by The Chennai Angels with participation from Inflection Point Ventures and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), underscores the growing investor confidence in SaaS-enabled marketplaces that solve complex intellectual property challenges. By positioning itself at the intersection of music rights and digital content creation, Hoopr is addressing a critical bottleneck for over 400,000 creators and nearly 200 major brands operating in the Indian market.

Hoopr’s strategy is bifurcated into a 'twin-engine' ecosystem that targets two distinct but complementary segments. The first engine serves individual creators on platforms like YouTube and Instagram, providing a library of copyright-safe music that prevents demonetization and takedown notices. The second engine, Hoopr Smash, represents a more ambitious enterprise play. It serves as India’s first dedicated Bollywood music licensing platform for brands such as Marico, ITC, and Myntra. By aggregating catalogs from 21 leading Indian labels, including industry titans like YRF and Universal Music Group, Hoopr is effectively centralizing a historically fragmented rights landscape, making it easier for enterprises to legally integrate popular culture into their marketing stacks.

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By positioning itself at the intersection of music rights and digital content creation, Hoopr is addressing a critical bottleneck for over 400,000 creators and nearly 200 major brands operating in the Indian market.

Technological differentiation is central to Hoopr’s value proposition. The newly acquired funds are earmarked for the development of a proprietary system designed to detect copyright violations and automate revenue sharing. This move suggests that Hoopr is evolving from a simple licensing storefront into a sophisticated rights management SaaS. In an era where AI-generated content and deepfakes are complicating the IP landscape, having a robust, automated detection and distribution layer allows Hoopr to offer transparency to artists and labels, which has traditionally been a point of friction in the music industry. This transparency is likely what enabled their landmark deal with the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS).

Strategic partnerships are further cementing Hoopr’s moat. The collaboration with Adobe is particularly noteworthy for the SaaS sector, as it potentially integrates Hoopr’s library directly into the creative workflows of millions of editors. Furthermore, the Artist Accelerator program launched with Universal Music Group signals a shift toward original content production specifically optimized for sync licensing. This proactive approach to 'manufacturing' hits for digital media ensures a steady supply of relevant tracks that are pre-cleared for commercial use, reducing the friction of traditional sync negotiations which can often take weeks or months.

Looking ahead, Hoopr’s successful placement of music in Jio Studios’ productions indicates a move toward the high-value film and OTT (Over-The-Top) segments. As India’s digital advertising spend continues to shift toward video-first formats, the need for a localized, tech-driven licensing solution will only intensify. Hoopr’s ability to bridge the gap between the legacy music industry and the modern creator economy positions it as a vital infrastructure provider for the next decade of Indian digital media.