Breaking: Lodestar UM wins Amazon Music mandate amid Omnicom–IPG merger

IPG’s Lodestar UM has quietly secured the integrated media mandate for Amazon Music in India, marking a significant account shift at a time when the Omnicom–IPG mega-merger has created uncertainty around the future leadership of both networks in the country. The win is valued at over ₹125 crore, according to people familiar with the development.

The larger Amazon portfolio in India continues to sit with WPP’s media agencies, which have historically overseen the account. However, Amazon Music’s decision to move its business to Lodestar UM is being read as a notable break in the long-standing arrangement. Senior industry executives say the development underscores Lodestar’s growing efficiency and the strength of its client-solutions model, especially as competing holding companies remain focused on internal restructuring triggered by the merger.

The shift follows a multi-agency pitch where Amazon Music sought deeper performance capabilities, stronger audience science and integrated brand–commerce planning to expand its user base in India’s competitive streaming market. The new mandate puts Lodestar UM in charge of end-to-end media strategy, planning and buying for the audio platform.

The timing of the win adds weight to its significance. The Omnicom–IPG consolidation has sent ripples through leadership teams and agency structures in India, prompting questions from clients about continuity and long-term stability. Amid this, Lodestar UM’s ability to clinch a high-value mandate from a global brand is being seen as a strategic message about its operational resilience and market confidence.

Amazon Music is stepping up investments in regional content, user personalisation, creator collaborations and paid-tier expansion. Lodestar’s strengthened digital and commerce-driven offering—backed by IPG’s data products and cross-vertical expertise—made the agency a strong contender in the evaluation process, executives said.

The win also comes months after the conclusion of Amazon’s “Global Media Pitch of the Decade,” which saw WPP and Omnicom Media Group split the massive worldwide account. WPP now leads media duties across APAC and EMEA, while Omnicom handles the Americas. IPG’s Initiative, which had managed Amazon’s global media since 2013 and defended it in 2017, lost the majority of the global business but continues to work on Amazon Web Services, Amazon Business and Amazon Ads.

India was among the key markets where local reviews were conducted earlier this year as part of the global process.

With the Amazon Music account now transitioning to Lodestar UM, the agency is expected to deploy its new media framework over the coming weeks, aligning with the platform’s next phase of marketing and growth.