MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • NDTV Car and Bike Awards 2012 to recognize the best products & people in the Indian Automotive Industry.

    Gearing up (ahem) for NDTV’s Car and Bike Awards

    By Akash Raha

     

    NDTV will present the seventh edition of the ‘NDTV Car & Bike Awards’ at the Buddh International Circuit, which played host to India’s first Formula One Race, on December 16 2011. The awards will honour the year’s best cards, bikes and the people behind them in the country’s vibrant automobile sector.

     

    Announcing the seventh edition of the awards, Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Editor-Auto, NDTV Group said, “It’s been a tough year for the industry, with the sales slowdown casting a shadow. The huge shift to diesel cars due to rising fuel costs has also impacted not just sales but strategies too. Supply chains in Japan and Thailand were also severely affected due to natural calamities. In all this, it’s definitely the new launches that kept the momentum going, and I am excited we have had such fierce competition from a wide variety of products to choose from this year. As always, our awards credibly honour the best of auto, while also reflecting the choices and sentiments of customers, manufacturers and auto lovers alike.”

     

    Conceived in 2006, the NDTV Car & Bike Awards have emerged as one of the most credible automobile industry awards, and have created a niche for themselves in the automobile industry, and with automobile lovers. The NDTV Car & Bike Awards 2012 will once again give a chance to viewers to vote for their favourite car and bike nominees and also the chance to ride the year’s hottest wheels home.

     

    The nominees for CNB Viewers’ Choice Two Wheeler are Bajaj Boxer 150, Hero Impulse, Honda CBR250R and Yamaha YZF R-15 V2.0; and the nominees for CNB Viewers’ Choice Car are Chevrolet Beat Diesel, Ford Fiesta, Honda Brio, Hyundai Verna, Mahindra XUV500, Maruti Suzuki Swift, Nissan Sunny, Renault Fluence, Skoda Rapid, and Toyota Etios Liva. The NDTV Car & Bike Awards place a lot of emphasis on green technology by rewarding environmentally friendly work done by the industry with the NDTV Green Award.

     

    To ensure a fool-proof and fair selection process, the jurors assess and award each nominee in complete isolation from other jurors. Each car and bike nominated is driven, evaluated and tested by the jury, with detailed research on each nominee’s specifications, its market performance and its immediate competition also being provided to them. The process is monitored by tabulators at Ernst and Young, and the results will only be revealed as the envelopes are opened on Awards Night on December 16, 2011.

     

    The winners of this year’s awards will be selected by an eminent jury consisting of an expert panel of auto aficionados.

     

    Jury (Product)

    Dr V Sumantran, Hinduja Group; Dilip Chhabria, DC Design; Sarika Sherawat, Rallyist;

    Armaan Ebrahim, Formula Two Racer; Gul Panag, Biker, Auto Columnist & Enthusiast;

    Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Editor-Auto, NDTV Network

    The awards also recognize Marketing, Advertising and Communication efforts of the players which contribute to any product’s success, with the CNB-AAA Awards. The categories in this include Best PR & Communications Team, Best Integrated Campaign, Best Creative Film (Two Wheeler & Four Wheeler categories) and Best Brand Ambassador.

     

    Jury (CNB-AAA)

    R Balki, Chairman & Creative Director, Lowe and Filmmaker; Agnello Dias, Founder, Taproot Films; Dorab Sopariwala, Editorial Advisor to NDTV; Prema Sagar, Principal & Founder, Genesis Burson Marsteller; Shruti Verma Singh, Editor, All About Ads; Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Editor-Auto, NDTV Network

  • The Economist's annual Books of the Year list, published in this week's issue, highlights 50 of this year's most fêted authors and their works

    The Economist publishes its annual Books of the Year list

    By Akash Raha

     

    The Economist’s annual Books of the Year list has been published in this week’s issue and highlights this year’s 50 most fêted authors and their works. The categories span politics and current affairs, economics and business, history, science and technology, culture, society and travel, fiction and poetry, all selected by The Economist editorial team.

     

    The best books of 2011, according to The Economist, were aboutChina,Congo,Afghanistan, Charles Dickens, Vincent van Gogh, the “Flora Delanica”,Jerusalem, Mumbai’s dance bars, quantum physics, sugar, orgasms, blue nights, two moons and other people’s money.

     

    Fiammetta Rocco, books and arts editor at The Economist said of the Books of the Year, “Whether it is politics, finance, history, science, culture or fiction, we look for big ideas, deep imagination and wonderful writing. The 50 books that we have chosen as our Books of the Year, all break new ground and stretch the mind.”

     

    To coincide with the Books of the Year announcement, The Economist and Southbank Centre have launched their first ever Christmas literary weekend from 9-11 December at Southbank Centre where six authors will read from, and discuss, their work and take part in a book signing session.

     

    In addition, The Economist is hosting a range of debates on its Facebook page to discuss a selection of books and allow readers to put questions to the authors. The Economist Books of the Year can be found online at: http://www.economist.com/node/21541386.

  • The awards, initiated in 1994, promise to be a grand celebration of the glory, success and grandeur of Indian cinema

    Colors acquires rights to telecast Screen Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    Colors, the general entertainment channel from Viacom 18 has announced its collaboration with Screen to telecast the 18th Edition of Screen Awards, a property that has been associated with Star Plus for the past 11 years. Initiated in 1994, the Screen Awards were instilled to recognise upcoming talent and professional excellence in Indian Cinema.

     

    The awards will be telecast on Colors and promise to be a grand celebration of the glory, success and grandeur of Indian cinema. The Awards celebrate achievement and excellence in over 30 categories that cover the entire sweep of film-making in Hindi and Marathi.

     

    Commenting on the acquisition of the Screen Awards, Colors CEO Mr Raj Nayak said: “Screen Awards is one of the most popular and recognised award functions in the Indian film industry’s calendar and we are extremely proud to be associated with it. It has been our constant endeavour to make Colors the one-stop entertainment hub for our audiences by bringing to them excellence in terms of shows, events and movies and through the acquisition of this property we hope to achieve just that.”

     

    Mr Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief, The Express Group said: “The Screen awards set the bar for excellence in Indian cinema because it embodies the fundamental principles of the Express Group: credibility and independence. Cinema is bristling with talent, and these awards applaud and celebrate this creative upsurge.”

     

    The awards follow a rigorous two-step screening process that includes a Screen

     

    SelectionAcademy. Its members, among the finest professionals in the industry, send their recommendations to a select Screen Jury which is not bound by these. Previous jury chairpersons include Ramesh Sippy, Amol Palekar, Jeetendra, Asha Parekh, Shatrughan Sinha, Waheeda Rehman among others.

     

  • According to the November edition of Characters Youth Loves (CYL) – Rannvijay from MTV Roadies is the most popular character among the youth. Rannvijay was at the No 1 position in the last track as well, which was conducted during June-July this year.

    Rannvijay, most popular non-fiction character among youth: Ormax Media

    By A Correspondent

     

    According to the November edition of Characters Youth Loves (CYL) – Rannvijay from MTV Roadies is the most popular character among the youth. Rannvijay was at the No 1 position in the last track as well, which was conducted during June-July this year.

     

    This track has seen two new entrants in the Top 5 of CYL – Amitabh Bachchan for Kaun Banega Crorepati at No 2 and Salman Khan for Bigg Boss 5 at No 3.

     

    Raghu of MTV Roadies has moved down to the No 4 position from No 2 in the last track. Hrithik Roshan continues to be at the No 5 as a host for Just Dance.

     

    Characters Youth Loves is a quarterly study done to track the favourite reality show characters (contestants, hosts and judges) among the youth, along with reasons for preference. The study was conducted among 1120 male and female respondents, 15-24 years, SEC AB, across four cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow and Bhopal.

     

    Ormax Media is a research and consulting firm specialising in the entertainment business. The company has also developed a series of proprietary research tools and syndicated products for the entertainment business.

  • It comes as no surprise that the list is dominated by the oil and gas sector, led by Indian Oil Corporation, Reliance Industries, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation

    Fortune India brings out its top 500 ranking

    By A Correspondent

     

    Fortune India magazine has released the Fortune 500 India list for 2011 with its December issue. It comes as no surprise that the list is dominated by the oil and gas sector, led by Indian Oil Corporation, Reliance Industries, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation.

     

    The banking sector seems to have dropped in rankings, with the top two lenders, SBI (ranked 4) and ICICI Bank (12), slipping in 2011. Twenty eight of 46 banks have fallen in rankings; only 15 have gone up. The gainers are automobile firms and their ancillary suppliers. The government continues to play a big role in business, with a total of 82 government-owned companies on this year’s list.

     

    Mumbai has remained the natural home of India Inc. despite the growth of other cities. Over a third of companies, 177 to be precise, are headquartered in the financial capital. This is followed by Delhi and its suburbs, which hosts 111 corporate head offices. Surprisingly, Kolkata continues to be a major corporate city with 38 Fortune India 500 companies, ahead of IT capital Bangalore (25 headquarters) and Chennai with 34. Pune, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad are far behind, home to 22, 19, and 17 firms respectively.

     

    Mr D N Mukerjea, Editor, Fortune India Magazine, said: “The Fortune India 500 is a celebration of the size and might of Indian companies. Over the last year, the 500 largest corporations have grown sales by 21.5%; the median growth has been even higher, at about 25%. There also appears to be a fair degree of churn—there are 57 new companies, around 11% of the list. That’s always a good sign because it indicates that the laggards are being replaced by smarter and hungrier companies. The good news, however, is that many of the Fortune India 500 companies are now beginning to shape the world’s opinion of India for the better. And they may just be doing a better job than their Chinese counterparts.”

     

    Commenting on the release of the second Fortune India 500 list, Mr Pavan Varshnei, President – English Magazines, ABP said: “We are extremely proud to present this impressive second edition of the Indian Fortune 500 list. Most of the companies have managed to retain their top- positions. They have contributed towards the growth of India’s GDP and the economy. It is almost every organisation’s goal to be listed in Fortune 500 list, which is regarded as a benchmark of business excellence. I would like to congratulate all the companies and organizations who have made a cut in the list this year and wish them a successful year ahead”.

     

    The Fortune India 500, published by Fortune India magazine is an annual list compiled on the basis of latest sales and gross revenue figures. It ranks the top 500 Indian companies (publicly and privately-held companies for which revenues are publicly available) by their gross revenue after adjustments. For a sense of perspective, the special issue also features China’s 500 largest corporations as well as a list of the 75 largest corporations of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries.

     

    Other individual data points include year on year change on total revenues; net operating income; profits; assets; net worth; profit as percentage of revenues, assets and net worth; dividend; and total salaries.

     

    The issue also ranks top players across different sectors including airlines, automobiles, banking, cement, consumer durables, pharmaceuticals, FMCG, infrastructure and development, media, oil and gas, power, real estate, retail and telecommunications among others.

     

    The top ranking companies of Fortune 500 India list are:

    1.       Indian Oil Corporation

    2.       Reliance Industries

    3.       Bharat Petroleum

    4.       State Bank of India

    5.       Hindustan Petroleum

    6.       Tata Motors

    7.       Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)

    8.       Tata Steel

    9.       Hindalco Industries

    10.   Coal India

    11.   National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)

    12.   ICICI Bank

    13.   Bharti Airtel

    14.   Larsen & Toubro

    15.   Essar Oil

    16.   Steel Authority of India (SAIL)

    17.   Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)

    18.   Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL)

    19.   Maruti Suzuki Inida

    20.   TCS

     

  • Records a 5.24 TVR among all kids (CS 4-14 ABC) in HSM and 4.4 TVR among all kids (CS 4-14 ABC) in All India.

    Disney Channel’s Doraemon Movie delivers the best ratings

    By A Correspondent

     

    The premiere of Doraemon – Nobita’s Dinosaur on Disney Channel has delivered the best viewership performance since 2005 for a kid’s show at 5.24 TVR among all kids (CS 4-14 ABC) in HSM, beating its own record rating of 4.3 TVR for Doraemon in Nobita’s Great Adventure in the South Seas  which was telecast June 5.

     

    The channel received an overwhelming response across all channels with 33% share of viewing in Hindi Speaking Markets (HSM) and 28% share of viewing in allIndiaduring the primary telecast of the movie.

     

    The premiere ranked #1 across the time slot in the kids genre with 66% share of viewing in HSM and 63% in All India among all kids (CS 4-14 ABC).

     

    The viewership in certain markets was particularly noteworthy withPunjab(1 Mn+) showcasing double digit TVR with 10.55. This was followed byDelhiat 8.71 TVR, UP at 8.11 TVR, among others.

     

    “It is wonderful to see kids and families enjoy Disney Channel’s rich menu of content. Doraemon has an engaging storyline and a familiar setting that every Indian kid can relate to. This success is testament to the unique way in which Disney engages with its kids and family audience at multiple levels,” said Natasha Malhotra, VP and GM, Walt Disney Television International India.

     

    Across the week, over 17.9 million individuals and 6.5 million kids tuned into movie from All India.

     

    In addition to its popularity with Disney Channel audience, Doraemon has also been ranked as the #1 character for kids across India by Ormax India in October 2011.

  • The new features are designed to bring the users a clutter-free, non-intimidating experience

    NDTVProfit.com in brand new avatar

    By A Correspondent

     

    NDTV Convergence has launched its financial and business portal NDTVProfit.com in a new avatar as a one-stop destination for live market data, research and expert insight and business news.

     

    The website is focused on the fast growing community of investors in the country, many of them first-timers, and provides financial tools, easy and intuitive access to detailed and relevant data, tips and know-how to help power personal wealth creation.

     

    The website has launched a brand new portfolio tool, which is convenient, easy-to-use and very secure, to track and plan not just an individual’s wealth, but also that of his entire family.

     

    Riding on its close, convergent relationship with NDTVProfit, the new website also brings the user the opportunity to interact one-on-one with experts and anchors, get stock recommendations and tips in real-time on the popular program “Buy or Sell”. The website also offers the users a chance to become a guru in his/her own community on the Profit board.

     

    Additionally, a new video pod makes it easy to access NDTVProfit’s programming in hundreds of easy-to-consume videos. The users can also view their favourite shows on the site.

     

    The new features are designed to bring the users a clutter-free, non-intimidating experience as they tracks markets live, gets experts’ views and immediate insight on market dynamics and a great viewing and reading experience.

     

    Geodesic has collaborated on the website with NDTV Convergence as the technical partner.

  • The respondents feel that they almost influence consumer choice, human rights and social change, politics and policy making and corporate governance

    [PR Channel] Social media empowers to changes the world, says youth

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a nationwide survey conducted amongst the youth of India, nearly 76 per cent believe that social media empowers them to bring change to the world. They are convinced that causes for women and movements against corruption can be driven through this medium that is now growing as a source for information. In fact, as many as 28 per cent source information from social media sites whereas around 54 per cent prefer a mix of print, television and social media.

     

    With a sample size of 1200 in the age category of 18 to 35 years, covering the major cities of Delhi (NCR), Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, the survey titled Youth in the day and age of Social Media conducted by Indiabiz News & Research Services, clearly shows that the youth feel empowered by the ability to express themselves and make their own choices.

     

    The respondents indicated that while they primarily engage in this space to connect with peers and garner information, they also feel that they almost influence consumer choice, human rights and social change, politics and policy making and corporate governance.

     

    What in many ways rebukes those who think that the youth believe only in symbolism, best described by clicking on the ‘like’ button for a Facebook group, about 70 per cent believe that ground realities cannot change by merely being part of a group. A lot more work on ground is needed.

     

    These trends are obviously turning into being areas of concerns for politicians and even corporations (who now engage a lot in this space). What would be a cause of concern for them is that anti-corruption has emerged as the most prominent social cause endorsed by 32 per cent of the respondents and 35 per cent of the youth saw protection of the girl child and violence against women as a significant issue.

     

    The power of this space, even though it cannot be measured in a comprehensive manner, is indicated by the increasing number of hours spent by the youth there. An India Biz survey conducted a year ago stated that this age group spent about an hour on social media sites. Now the time spent is one to two hours. And the advent of smart-phones, according to 82 per cent of the respondents, has helped increase connectivity.

     

     

    What is evident is the growing sense of empowerment that the youth of India feel with social media. They choose their friends, determine which group they should be associated, pick information that they think matters to them, influence public debate and reject or accept icons or leaders. As stated in one of the many comments, ‘Social media can always create revolutions – positive or negative is upon its moderator and how the debate evolves.’

  • A TopGear car is one that simply excites you and has you searching for reasons to take your car out even if you want to get nowhere

    TopGear announces the 2011 awards, names Audi RS5 as ‘Car of 2011’

    By A Correspondent

     

    The country’s most exciting auto awards, TopGear Magazine Awards 2011, have been announced. Supported by Principal Mutual Funds, Wrangler, Zync Tablets, the TopGear Awards was one glitzy night with the who’s who of the nation’s auto industry, corporate houses and celebrities in attendance. With Black Dog Easy Evenings in charge of beverages, it was but natural to have Party Hard Drivers as the responsibility partner. With professional drivers in charge of dropping people home, nobody drove back drunk.

     

    And the Car of the Year 2011 is the fast and fierce Audi RS5. “It’s not a conventional choice, but TopGear is never about conventions,” said Girish Karkera, Editor, TopGear magazineIndia. BBC TopGearIndia, the Indian edition ofTopGear,UK’s best-selling auto magazine, has been in place since 2007. Instead of calling celebs and famous people to drive about 40 cars in a single day to pass a verdict, TopGear relies on its own editorial teams to drive and spend quality time with cars round the year.

     

    Commenting on the TopGear Awards, Tarun Rai CEO Worldwide Media said “2011 has been an exciting year for cars and bikes inIndiawith over 50 launches across categories. We are happy that BBC Top Gear magazine is the first to announce the best cars of the year. It is a comprehensive list that includes the Most Beautiful Car and the Best Value for Money Car besides another nineteen categories.”

     

    The TopGear car of the year is never about value for money or depreciation or a car that will sell by the hordes. A TopGear car is one that simply excites you and has you searching for reasons to take your car out even if you want to get nowhere.

     

    “While the RS5 isn’t exactly a value for money car, in terms of performance it’s right up there with supercars, but costs less than half of a supercar, is extremely usable and practical on an everyday basis,” explains Girish on the team’s choice.

     

    Other winners included the Maserati MC Stradale for Driver’s car of the year, the Volvo XC60 for SUV of the year and the Maruti Swift for Small car of the year. This year also sees the introduction of some new categories like Hypercar of the year – the Koenigsegg Agera – and the Reader’s Choice car of the year – Mahindra XUV 500 and cabriolet of the year – Audi R8 Spyder. “It’s a good problem to have.Indiais seeing the launch of several new cars and bikes that don’t fit into old niches. For instance, we have a Bike and Superbike of the year. And over the past couple of years the line between a bike and a superbike is beginning to blur, which only shows the way the market is headed.”

     

    Other winners include :

    Most beautiful car of the year – Aston Martin Rapide

    Luxury car of the year – Maserati Quattroporte

    Family car of the year – Skoda Rapid

    Sedanof the year – Renault Fluence

    Value for money car of the year – Mahindra XUV 500

    Bike of the year – Honda CBR 250

    Superbike of the year – BMW R1200GS

    Interior of the year – Volkswagen Passat

    Engine of the year – AMG 5.5-litre V8 Bi-Turbo

     

     

  • Shemaroo Entertainment pays fulsome tribute to the evergreen hero of Hindi cinema, Dev Anand, with dedicated YouTube channels showcasing the songs picturised on him.

    Your fill of Dev Anand on Shemaroo

    By A Correspondent

     

    Shemaroo Entertainment salutes the energy of the evergreen romantic hero of Indian Cinema – Dev Anand. No one can forget the puffed hairstyle, his angular, swinging walk, his sing-song dialogue delivery and the songs picturised on him.

     

    Now you can watch all your favourite Dev Anand songs on FilmiGaane, a channel by Shemaroo Entertainment on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL12C875791E905B04&feature=view_all.

     

    The channel has about 150 evergreen Dev Anand songs, and one can also can enjoy specially created playlist of songs featuring Dev Anand with his wife Kalpana Kartik at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL90731E2132821A1D&feature=view_all

     

    The channel also has a special playlist of Dev Anand’s collaboration with S D Burman which can be on accessed at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1D403A1C0FF73A93&feature=view_all

     

    The channel also provides free preview of 15 minutes of Dev Saab’s movies Asli Naqli and Jali Note at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpJluh0nkhM and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yThGz0U33vY

     

    The channel also provides a link, https://www.facebook.com/events/227571690647532/?notif_t=event_invite, where viewers can share thoughts about his work.

  • Tibrewal is set to join as Business Head, South & West and Ramakrishnan has joined as the Head of Marketing

    Pankaj Tibrewal and Rajesh Ramakrishnan join HT

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mr Pankaj Tibrewal is set to take over from Mr Salil Sadanandan as Business Head, South & West, HT Media Group. Mr Sadanandan joined HT Media in May 2008, and led from the front. Today the Mumbai edition, in a highly competitive market, is a strong and clear No 2 in readership as well as in advertising volumes.

     

    Rajiv Verma, Group CEO, HT Media Group, said: “It’s never easy to let go of such passionate leaders but it’s only fair that a leader who has contributed so much to our enterprise must be enabled with this opportunity.”

     

    Mr Tibrewal comes to HT Media from the Future Group where he was the COO and Business Head for Pantaloons. At Pantaloons, Mr Tibrewal established global best practices in retail and implemented a new customer-first strategy, and, under his leadership, Pantaloons achieved an annual growth of 30-35%. Prior to the Future Group, Mr Tibrewal worked with McKinsey and Company in their Chicago office. Previous to this, he was an entrepreneur.

     

    Mr Tibrewal holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at the Northwestern University and an MS in manufacturing systems from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr Tibrewal’s wife, Pallavi, also an MBA from Kellogg, works for Disney, heading heir accessories & footwear licensing.

     

    Mr Tibrewal will be reporting to the Rajiv Verma in his new endeavour.

     

    Mr Rajesh Ramakrishnan has also joined Hindustan Times as the Head of Marketing. Mr Ramakrishnan will initially be responsible for the marketing of the Hindustan Times brand in the North and the East.

     

    Mr Ramakrishnan is an alumnus of BITS Pilani and XLRI Jamshedpur, and has over 17 years of experience in Sales and Marketing across companies like Reckitt Benckiser, Marico and Pepsico. He has worked on a diverse set of brands including Cherry Blossom, Kurkure and Quaker. His last assignment was Head, Global Marketing with Apollo Tyres.

     

    Commenting on his joining, Shantanu Bhanja, VP Marketing, HT Media, said: “Mr Ramakrishnan combines a strong sense of result-orientation with an ability to bring the best out of people. He will bring exceptional Marketing depth to our biggest Brand and key markets”

     

    Apart from being a marketeer, Mr Ramakrishnan is also a passionate photographer whose work has been exhibited, as also published in several magazines and newspapers. He also conceptualized and shot two calendars over the last two years, with prominent celebrities, in support of NGOs.

     

    Mr Ramakrishnan’s wife Nirupama Subramanian is a Corporate Trainer and also the author of the best selling novel Keep the Change.

     

    Mr Ramakrishnan will report to Shantanu Bhanja, and consequent to this, Diptakirti Chaudhuri, Marketing Head, HT Delhi.

     

     

  • Saregama ties up with UTV Bindass to revive mainstream popular music

    Saregama, UTV Bindass tie up for music talent show

    By A Correspondent

     

    Saregama India has announced the launch of a new platform for popular mainstream artists to reach iconic heights in the music world called ‘Saregama’s Icons Nxt’ with UTV Bindass.

     

    Saregama will create original music and will promote it on UTV Bindass. The initiative has yielded five exciting young talents and their performances will be showcased on UTV Bindass in a variety of contemporary genres. The artists that are being featured are of the likes of Samar and Sanam, Phoenyx, Nasha, Paapi 4 and The Dhol Factory.

     

    Apurva Nagpal, MD, Saregama India said, “There has been a huge vacuum in the pop genre in India for many years. This is an endeavour to resurrect the genre.”

     

    Adarsh Gupta, Business Head-Music, Saregama India said, “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.”

     

    Keith Alphonso, Business Head – UTV Bindass, said, “There is nothing new about the innate connection between music and youth. The youth 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.”

     

    David MacDonald, Head of YouTube Partner Operations, Asia Pacific said, “We’re very excited to see a leading industry label like Saregama stepping forward to give 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 a overnight success. We’re confident that initiatives like these will go a long way in recognising 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 endeavour, 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 Indian 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.

     

    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. Mr 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 which will promote and sell the music albums of the artist; and Big Cinemas the leading multiplex chain for promoting the property across their multiplexes.