iWorld
SonyLiv partners Pocket Aces, brings Filter Copy & Gobble originals
MUMBAI: Underlining its commitment to provide the best entertainment experience, SonyLiv, the digital video entertainment platform of Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), has announced a strategic partnership with Pocket Aces. With this partnership, latest content including iconic short videos from the Pocket Aces channel FilterCopy and food videos from its channel Gobble will now be available as a part of SonyLiv’s extensive content catalogue.
The partnership will augment SonyLiv’s repertoire of entertainment offerings and allow Pocket Aces the opportunity to distribute its content to SPN’s audiences, which are different from the audience on its own social channels, thus also benefiting the advertisers and brands that partner with them for snackable content.
Says SonyLiv EVP and head – digital business Uday Sodhi: “Our partnership with Pocket Aces aims at bolstering our already extensive content library with even more high-quality entertainment. The association will help us in meeting the growing demand for short-form video content in India and further consolidate our position as the country’s premium digital entertainment destination. We are confident our viewers will enjoy this high-quality addition to our content offerings as well as greater viewing flexibility and convenience that the partnership enables.”
Pocket Aces co-founder Aditi Shrivastava: “We are excited to partner with SPN’s digital platform – SonyLiv and reach a completely new set of audiences through them. We reach over 25 million people on a weekly basis through our own pages and have been working with large brand partners to create some very successful content. Having our content distributed across various OTT platforms will benefit our brand partners and build a rich IP library. We will add to it this year with four web series and over 500 videos. We are glad to have several avenues to distribute this content.”
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.
