Anurag Rao
CEO,
Chain Reactor
Anurag Rao is a well-known figure in the music industry with a track record of remarkable achievements.
A musician himself and an A&R Specialist, his career spans over 20years in the Music and Live Entertainment industry, where he has created highly visible and engaging Intellectual Properties demonstrating the Artist Centric Business Models that are the form factors of the New Music industry in the making. In 2019, Rao’s talent Booking and Artist Management company Canvas Talent got acquired by leading global music distribution company - Believe Digital. He worked at Believe in the capacity of Director, A&R and Strategic Partnerships until June 2020.
His latest venture, Chain Reactor music and Media, stands as a cutting-edge, multi-dimensional music/content licensing and marketing agency. Thanks to his enduring relationships with major record labels, music services, collecting societies, and artists, Rao excels in delivering comprehensive music solutions and top tier talent for TV commercials, live entertainment, and brand campaigns.
Chain Reactor's recent successes in the sync and music space involve collaborations with renowned brands and broadcasters such as Dream 11, Swiggy, A23, Tata Motors, Star Sports, Indian soccer League and Amazon Prime, among others. In February 2023, Rao orchestrated one of the most significant licensing deals for the Hockey World Cup opening ceremony, securing licenses for an impressive 58 songs across 10 major labels in just three days.
Beyond his music ventures, Anurag Rao is also known for his commitment to gender equality. He co-founded MARD (Men against Rao and Discrimination), a noteworthy initiative in partnership with actor Farhan Akhtar. This multifaceted professional and advocate continues to make a significant impact in both the music industry and social causes.
Rao’s initial years were spent with MTV in the US and then Asia, where he was appointed as Talent Artist Relations Head. He was pivotal to the inception of MTV Immies, MTV Asia Awards, MTV Style Awards and pioneered multiple internationally acclaimed on-air Intellectual Properties and brokered talent deals with key talent from the Music industry and Bollywood in India. In his career across two decades, Rao has worked with almost every Bollywood Musician and Actor. Some of the names Rao's worked in the Music Biz include Chris Martin, Mark Needham (The Killers), Tomasso Colliva (Grammy winning producer) Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Colonial Cousins (first Indian artist to win the MTV VMA's), A.R. Rahman, PussyCat Dolls, Hoobastank, Alanis Morrissette, Ronan keating and Baz Luhrmann to name a few.