iWorld
Wynk Music users win exclusive chance to meet Ed Sheeran
Mumbai: Wynk Music, a music streaming app by downloads and daily active users organised the only contest in India which gave its users the opportunity to win an exclusive tete-a-tete with international artist Ed Sheeran. The meeting was a dream come true for his fans who got to spend time with their favourite artist and share their stories and memories with them.
The winners jammed with Ed on his chart-topper song ‘Afterglow’ in an exclusive never-before experience. The three winners for the contest were Keegan Farreira, Sai Kiran Kilaru and Ronitbunty Khetwani. They won from amongst thousands of fans who participated in the contest to show their love for the artist, the winners made handmade customized gifts for Ed and presented it to him themselves.
Organized as a culmination to Wynk’s campaign that encouraged users to participate in “Ed Sheeran Trivia Marathon” by answering questions on the global artist and streaming his songs on the app, the event was in line with Wynk’s continued endeavor to bring its users closer to their favorite artist. These winners answered questions around Ed and heard his songs for hours daily.
Taking the celebration, a notch higher, Wynk also released an exclusive message from Ed Sheeren for select users who participated in the content but could not win the catch-up with him. In the video, Ed thanked his fans for taking part in the contest and assured that he would be coming back to India for more contests in the future.
Wynk has also released a video with the highlights of the heartfelt conversations between Ed and his fans from the meet-up, across its social media platforms.
Ed Sheeran was in the country as part of his Mathematics Tour. During the meeting, he warmly greeted his fans and thanked the winners for participating in the contest wholeheartedly.
Enabling artists to also connect with their fans and strengthen their bonds with them, the innovative fan-artists tete-a-tete has been a huge hit amongst Wynk users. The brand has spearheaded numerous initiatives in the past to provide similar unique and memorable experiences to users and brought them closer to their favorite artists, fostering deeper connections between fans and artists. In February, Wynk Music had organised an exclusive “Coffee date with Jubin Nautiyal” and made five of his top fans meet the artist on Valentine’s Day.
Over the past year, Wynk has curated exclusive opportunities for fans to meet diverse and renowned artists, ranging from including internationally acclaimed DJ, Martin Garrix to popular Indian Singer, King. Additionally, fans also got a chance to meet South Superstar Darshan and Telugu award-winning superstar Nani as a part of such innovative campaigns. As part of Wynk Rewind 2023, several artists also showed appreciation to their fans through video messages acknowledging the constant love and admiration shown by them.
iWorld
Anirudh Ravichander and Universal Music India join forces to take South India’s sound to the world
The composer behind 13 billion streams launches Albuquerque Records with UMI as its exclusive global partner
MUMBAI: Universal Music India has struck an exclusive partnership with Albuquerque Records, the freshly minted independent label of singer-composer Anirudh Ravichander, in a deal that bets big on South India’s booming pop and hip-hop scene going global.
The arrangement, announced on 17 March, will see Universal Music India handle future pop and hip-hop releases by Anirudh himself, as well as artists signed to the new label. A first release is already in the pipeline for April, featuring Anirudh.
The numbers behind the man are hard to ignore. Debuting in 2012 with the viral sensation “Why This Kolaveri Di”, Anirudh has since clocked over 13 billion audio streams across more than 770 tracks, cementing his position as the No.1 South Indian artist on Spotify by total streams. His fingerprints are all over some of the Tamil film industry’s biggest musical moments, from Hukum and Vaathi Coming to Arabic Kuthu and the A23 Theme.
But Albuquerque Records is a different beast. Built for the non-film space, it is designed to nurture independent talent and champion the next wave of Indian pop voices. “Universal Music India’s leadership in pop and hip-hop made them the natural partner,” said Anirudh. “I’m excited to take independent voices to audiences around the world.”
Universal Music India’s chairman and CEO Devraj Sanyal was equally effusive. “Anirudh represents the future of Indian music, bold, original, and with enormous potential,” he said. “Identifying transformative talent is our superpower, and this partnership reflects that belief.”
Sanujeet Bhujabal, managing director of Universal Music India, framed the deal as more than a distribution play. “Albuquerque Records represents Anirudh’s bold artistic vision in the world of pop and hip-hop,” he said. “True to his legacy of innovation, this partnership is set to establish yet another landmark creative space, this time for the emerging world of iPop and beyond.”
For Universal Music India, the deal deepens a long-running push into South India’s four key language markets: Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu. The label already has regional imprints, film partnerships with Maddock Films and Excel Entertainment, and a growing non-film roster. Landing Anirudh, arguably the south’s most bankable music brand, is a statement of intent. South Indian music has the streams. Now it is coming for the world.
