Saransh Kharbanda is a music and digital media professional, entrepreneur and creator whose career has spanned more than 15 years across technology, digital platforms, artist partnerships and the Indian music ecosystem.
He began his career at Google in 2011, working across advertising operations, sales and agency partnerships before moving into YouTube Music India and working closely with artists and their teams. This journey gave him a front row view of the fundamental shift taking place in Indian music; from a predominantly film music led industry to one increasingly shaped by streaming, digital platforms, creators and direct relationships between artists and audiences.
In 2024, after 13 years at Google, Saransh left the corporate world to build independently. Today, through Saransh Kharbanda Media, he works with artists and music businesses on digital strategy, YouTube, content and audience development, while simultaneously building his own creator-led media properties around music, food and culture.
His work today sits at the intersection of three worlds he has spent his career navigating: artists, technology and audiences.
Early Career & Music
Saransh’s relationship with music began long before it became his profession.
As a teenager, he first discovered a love for music when he heard Metallica’s Sad But True playing on a friend’s older brother’s computer. What started with that song developed into a lifelong obsession with heavy music and eventually led him deep into Bangalore’s live music community, where he became a regular at the city’s gigs and festivals.
Music became more than something he listened to. It gave him a community, friendships and a sense of belonging and, unexpectedly, even played a role in launching his professional career. During his final interview for Google, Saransh discovered that his interviewer was also a metalhead. Their shared passion for heavy music became a significant part of the conversation and helped create the connection that ultimately led to him landing the job.
After beginning his career at Google in 2011, Saransh’s relationship with Indian music continued to evolve. In 2018, he discovered India’s rapidly expanding Desi hip hop movement, opening up an entirely new musical world and introducing him to a generation of artists, communities and cultural movements that were redefining Indian music.
Around the same time, an opportunity emerged to join YouTube Music India. The timing proved to be the perfect intersection of his professional experience in digital platforms and his personal passion for music. Working with artists and their teams gave him an inside view of how musicians were beginning to use YouTube and digital platforms not simply to distribute music, but to build audiences and careers.
Music has ultimately given Saransh a passion, a community, lifelong friendships and a career. It remains one of the most important influences on both his personal life and professional work.
Transition to Entrepreneurship
After 13 years at Google, Saransh left the company in 2024 to build independently.
The transition was driven by a desire to bring together the different parts of his career. His understanding of technology and digital platforms, his experience working with artists, and his lifelong interest in music and culture into something of his own.
He founded Saransh Kharbanda Media, an independent digital consulting and media venture working with artists and music businesses on YouTube strategy, content, audience development, digital positioning and artist development.
Entrepreneurship for Saransh has extended beyond consulting. He has also moved from advising artists on content to becoming a creator and building original intellectual property himself.
This has resulted in formats such as Off The Menu, which explores India’s diverse music cultures, scenes and communities, Pak Pak Pakao, & Brews, supper-club-inspired formats where Saransh cooks for musicians and music industry professionals, and uses food as a gateway into long form conversations about music, creativity and life.
The shift has allowed him to move from being a participant in the digital music ecosystem to building within it. Creating, producing, advising and experimenting with new ways of connecting artists and audiences.
About the Company
Saransh Kharbanda Media operates at the intersection of music, digital strategy and creator led media.
Its consulting practice works with artists and music businesses to develop stronger digital identities, content strategies and audiences. Rather than treating digital platforms simply as promotional channels for new releases, the company focuses on helping artists build sustainable content ecosystems and deeper relationships with their audiences.
The company is also developing original media properties across music, food and culture. Off The Menu explores the people, scenes and stories behind India’s diverse musical landscape, while Pak Pak Pakao & Brews bring musicians into a more intimate environment where food becomes the starting point for conversations that go beyond their public personas.
The long term ambition is to build a media company that can develop, produce and distribute original intellectual property across digital platforms while creating meaningful opportunities for artists, audiences and brands.
Impact & Vision
Saransh’s career has given him a perspective that spans several sides of the modern music ecosystem, between the technology platforms, the artists, the audiences, the brands and now the creator. His work today brings these perspectives together.
Saransh believes the next phase of the Indian music industry will be shaped by more than songs and streaming numbers. Artists increasingly have the ability to build audiences around their personalities, stories, communities and interests, turning themselves into much broader cultural properties.
He sees an opportunity for digital platforms to create a more diverse music ecosystem, one where regional scenes, emerging artists and subcultures can build audiences without having to pass through traditional gatekeepers, and where artists can develop sustainable careers by owning more of their relationship with their audience.
Through his consulting work and original media properties, Saransh continues to contribute to that evolution while creating a new generation of music and culture storytelling from India.
Music gave him his first community, his friendships and eventually his career. Today, he is building a business around helping shape where Indian music and music culture go next.
