iWorld
Merger and Acquisition Policy for Telecom by mid-October: Sibal
NEW DELHI: The government hopes to announce its merger and acquisition policy for telecom companies by mid-October.
Communications and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said he had wanted them to in place by the middle of September but this had not been possible.
Speaking at the Indian Women’s Press Corps, he said the Department of Telecom has plans to meet industry representatives before releasing the final guidelines.
Meanwhile, Sibal said his top priority was to get Post Banks started in rural area. “Something that is very close to my heart is to get post bank in place for rural India. All post offices should also function as banks. I think we will be able to serve the rural economy and rural folk much better,” Sibal said.
The Department of Posts has applied for a banking licence. The approval of banking licence by the Reserve bank of India is expected to triple bank branches in the country.
The Minister wants to ensure that the “next auction is not just successful but phenomenally successful”.
For the financial year 2013-14, government expects revenue of Rs 40,847.05 crore from other communication services, which include receipt from spectrum sale and one-time spectrum fee levied on old players for holding airwaves frequencies in addition to quantum they were allocated with licences.
Sibal said that his ministry is working on a policy framework for Optical Fibre Network under which 250,000 village panchayats in the country will get connected by 2014. He wants to move the fibre optics policy framework as quickly as possible so that 600 universities and 3,500 colleges can also be connected with dedicated national knowledge network.
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.
