Padmanabhan NS
Head Spotify Artist and Label Partnerships for India
Padmanabhan (Paddy) heads Spotify’s Artist and Label Partnerships for India. With over 20 years of experience in the A&R and music business, he is currently responsible for the music content led strategy for labels and artists for the audio streaming platform. His role also includes partner education, key release marketing plans, live music, and artist engagement. He has been instrumental in onboarding the major Indian labels and artists on the platform and providing necessary tools and services such as Spotify for Artists. Paddy and his team have spearheaded local versions of Spotify's global path-breaking projects, such as Radar, Fresh Finds, Wrapped, and Equal.
Paddy started his career as a software engineer, and after a decade, his love for music led him straight into the music business. Ever since, he has worked with various music labels as the A&R and Music Head, including Times Music, EMI Music, Universal Music and RadioCity where he was responsible for discovering / marketing some of India’s biggest independent artists such as Swarathma, Advaita, and Grammy Winner Ricky Kej, among others.
Paddy is also a guitarist and has played with leading Indian artists such as Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. On weekends, you may find him jamming with his classic rock covers band, One Night Stand, or his Hindi setup, Trishna Unplugged.