INVC,,
Mumbai,,
Saregama India Ltd., India’s flagship Music and Entertainment Company, today announced the launch of a new platform for highly talented and popular mainstream artists, to reach iconic heights in the music world called ‘SAREGAMA’s ICONS NXT’ with UTV Bindass.
Saregama’s ICONS NXT with UTV Bindass will seek to identify great new talent and promote mainstream artists to revive Mainstream Popular Music and fashion them into the Next Generation Music Icons. Through this unmatched initiative, the nation’s most prestigious company will create music that goes beyond the realm of convention and promote it along with India’s leading youth brand, UTV Bindass!
Saregama and UTV Bindass search for the country’s finest and most talented artists has so far yielded five exciting young acts that guarantee a massive fan base. This gamut of artists will be showcased on UTV Bindass in a variety of contemporary genres, with each Iconic figure redefining a style. The hugely popular artists being featured are of the likes of Samar & Sanam, Phoenyx, Nasha, Paapi 4 and The Dhol Factory.
Apurva Nagpal, MD, Saregama India Ltd. speaks, “There has been a huge vacuum in the Pop genre in India for many years. This is an endeavor to resurrect the genre.”
As stated by Mr. Adarsh Gupta, Business Head-Music, Saregama India Ltd., “Saregama Icons Nxt with UTV Bindass is a platform to launch a wave of new artists year on year for reviving mainstream popular music. We believe that going forth this will be the leading platform for creating Music Icons of the Next Generation. We have tied up with several partners to promote this flagship property across platforms.”
As stated by Mr. Keith Alphonso, Business Head – UTV Bindass, “There is nothing new about the innate connection between music and youth. The youth TG has consistently defined the next wave of music. To create the next generation of music icons we are pleased to partner with SAREGAMA ICONS NXT to promote the country’s finest and most talented young musicians. Through this partnership we look forward to further strengthen our connect with music and thereby with our audiences too.”
As stated by Mr. David MacDonald, Head of YouTube Partner Operations, Asia Pacific – “We’re very excited to see a leading Industry label like Saregama stepping forward to provide the budding singers and artists a platform to showcase their work and earn the praise they deserve. India is home to many talented singers and YouTube is a democratic platform that provides a unique opportunity to every individual to express themselves and pursue their passion online. Over the years we’ve seen many artists use YouTube to showcase their work, connect with their fans and become an overnight success. We’re confident that initiatives like these will go a long way in recognizing and celebrating the independent artists in the country.”
Talent house, a global talent networking portal that addresses artists across creative initiatives is also supporting the endeavor, having agreed to front the search for this property for the next five seasons. Arun Mehra (CEO – Talenthouse India) said, “Talenthouse is the world’s largest collaborative platform undertaking crowd sourcing Creative Invite’s for globally renowned industry names like U2, Metallica, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, etc. We, at Talenthouse India are excited and looking forward to provide opportunities for creative artists to showcase their talent in India. Saregama India will be the perfect collaborative partner for the same”.
Flipkart, one of the largest online shopping stores has come on board to promote and retail the artist albums with heavy online support across platforms. They have initiated a pre booking feature for sale of CDs online. “Icons Nxt without doubt would prove to be a great platform for young Indian talent and this coming from Saregama makes it all the more important. The music is catchy and would appeal to a large audience. Even the past trends at Flipkart indicate that these numbers would certainly hold the Top Charts for a long time. – Ankit Nagori (Vice President, Business Development)
Nokia has partnered Saregama India to launch the music of these talented artistes on Nokia Music Unlimited service – Nokia’s revolutionary digital music service for its devices. Viral Oza, Marketing Director, Nokia India, said, “India certainly needs more platforms like Saregama’s Icons Nxt, given the enormous musical talent out there waiting to be explored. We are sure that our partnership with Saregama India will contribute towards promoting independent music in the country.”
The other brands associated with the property are Planet M who will promote and sell the music albums of the artist; Big Cinemas the leading multiplex chain for promoting the property across their multiplexes.
This year the artists who have managed to succeed through the gruelling music benchmarks are:
SAMAR SANAM:
Samar & Sanam were part of a band called SQS Supastars formed by Times Music after having won a National Competition in 2010. They have Music Videos with millions of views on Youtube as well played across TV channels and Radio stations across India. Sanam’s energizing vocals along with Samar’s unique production skills defines them as true pop-stars.
PHOENYX
Phoenyx is a complete audio-visual experience involving cutting edge electronic music production and live performance. Major genres include all kinds of Electronic Dance Music including Electro House, Electro Pop, Club House and Dubstep with special focus on Dubstep. Unique aspects of Phoenyx include orchestral elements fused with electronic sounds to bring out a brilliant cinematic, dramatic and emotional experience unmatched in the industry.
PAAPI 4
For the first time ever, three celebrity music composers have come together to create a completely new genre of music which is Humour Rock with lyrics that are fun!! Their sound is unique and an extension of their own unique personalities. The album is a benchmark album in terms of cutting edge sound and production values with extremely humorous songs which have quirky titles such as Rickshaw mein Romance, Vada pav, Two timing etc, which have an instant connect.
NASHA
Nasha is a Delhi based Sufi Rock band that plays soulful music in a modern contemporary rock version. They have performed at various venues and have also performed with re-known artists like Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Mohit Chauhan, Atif Aslam, Priyanka Chopra, Aamir Khan, Hard Kaur etc. Nasha has been awarded as The Best Band from North India by Times Music Group and have been the winners of Mtv Rockathon 2010. Their touching melodies and lyrics are not only inspiring but hopeful.
DHOL FACTORY:
A high energy act, that has all the favourite traditional Punjabi and Hindi songs performed together, with a constant backing by numerous dhol players. Imagine the pure vibrations on the stage, as Arjun Arry and some of the most popular folk singers sing your favourite tappas and boliyaans, to the beat of at least a dozen DHOL players.
