SONY SIX promises to ‘live the magic’ by signing John Abraham for their 2014 FIFA World Cup™ Marketing Campaign

With the world’s greatest football tournament just around the corner, Sony Six, India’s premier sports and entertainment channel is all set to launch their 2014 FIFA World Cup™ marketing campaign and they have roped in a Bollywood star for the same. Self-confessed football enthusiast John Abraham has been brought on board for the SONY SIX’s 2014 FIFA World Cup™ marketing campaign.

It is a known fact that John shares a great deal of love and passion for the sport and it’s through this partnership that both SONY SIX and John would like to build anticipation for the upcoming FIFA event. In a never seen before football avatar, John will be seen donning the persona of Brazil’s favorite striker for this campaign. The campaign promises to bring alive the zeal and excitement of the tournament, right here on the Indian shores.

Word has it that he might even be in company of some more football stars from international teams like England, France, Portugal and France for the campaign.

Looks like its football time for John and India!

The Maharaj of Dance on the Red Carpet! Sandip Soparrkar at the Cannes Film Festival!

 

Celebrated Choreographer Sandip Soparrkar arrives at Cannes Film Festival
67th Cannes Film Festival begins with a grand opening, all stars lining up one after another to walk the most talked about red carpet in the world. Representing the Bollywood Dance community at the French Riviera is renowned choreographer Sandip Soparrkar, who arrived in full style in knee length tan boots at the JW Marriott Hotel.
This is Sandip’s second outing at Cannes Film Festival, last year too he made heads turn at the red carpet with his better half actress - super model Jesse Randhawa, this year the leggy model was to make an appearance too along with her talented husband but they did not seem to arrive together.
After arriving Sandip headed straight to meet Oscar Winner Resul Pookutty and was seen having animated conversation with the Academy Award winner, is there a dance and music extravaganza in the pipeline we wonder, joining them was actor turned director Kamal Sadanah as well.
Sandip will be at Cannes walking the red carpet for five nights in ‘More Mischief’ designs by Deepak Shah, Jewellery by Dev Balani of Malkish Jewels and watches by Shilpa Choksi of ‘Marigold Watches.’
 Now we can only wait and see what does this most stylish choreographer awardee makes an entry on the red carpet with.

Contrabands signs on indie artist, rapper and hip-hop musician - KRSNA

Contrabands, a joint venture between leading music label Universal Music India, India's premier Entertainment channel Vh1 and leading live music venue Hard Rock Café, has signed on Indian rapper and hip-hop musician, KRSNA.Established as a unique platform for independent music in the country, Contrabands has gone on to sign Krsna, its third artiste after launching EDM sensation Lost Stories and Mizoram based rock band Boomarang in 2013.

KRSNA is one of the first exponents in this genre from India and Universal Music India’s joint initiative will promote the hip-hop genre, having previously supported promising electronic dance music and rock musicians. KRSNA, the upcoming and talented hip-hop musician from New Delhi, is all set to launch his debut album ‘SELLOUT’ today with a live performance at the Hard Rock Café, Worli.

Hailing from the country’s capital New Delhi, KRSNA has previously received widespread media attention for his socio-political songs rapped in Hindi under the alias ‘Prozpekt’. The young rapper aspires to go beyond commercial rap having witnessed its surge in Bollywood and its dilution into mainstream pop with little or no emphasis on lyrical value. His debut album is a step towards giving a face to the Indian hip hop music scene.

SELLOUT is touted to be an excellent amalgamation of influences of underground rap and commercial hip hop. Hoping to strike a chord with the youth, the braggadocio rap is set alongside contrasting images of regret from the past and an uncertainty about the future. KRSNA’s upcoming album can be seen as a departure from traditional perceptions of rap and a step into new musical territory so far unexplored by Indian audiences.

Commenting on his launch, KRSNA said, “I'm excited to launch my debut album with Contrabands and have a major like Universal supporting me. India is seeing a resurgence in Hip Hop music with the indie crowd finally embracing it and I hope to make my mark in the music industry with my style of rap/hip hop music, which is less commonly seen in India. My album is far from the grips of Bollywood, yet it maintains a commercial vibe. My aim with Sellout was to have the listener experience the dillema every artist faces - the choice between personal artistic satisfaction and large commercial success since they rarely intertwine."

Speaking on the occasion, Devraj Sanyal, Managing Director, Universal Music/EMI Music, South Asia said, “Often music that does not fit in the popular music mould fails to reach out to music lovers and falls short of a good platform for release and promotion. Through Contrabands we have always aimed at promoting and giving a chance to independent, budding and offbeat musicians of our country. We are very proud to present KRSNA under our label. We are confident that SELLOUT will find a place in every rap and hip-hop lovers playlist.”

Commenting on the occasion Ferzad Palia, SVP & GM, English Entertainment, Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd. said, “India has an incredible pool of music talent that only needs recognition to make it big. We are proud to bring forth properties like Contrabands which gives these artists, like Krsna, their due recognition through a mainstream platform. With the third artist being launched by this property, we are happy to partner with Universal Music and Hard Rock Café once again in discovering such talent and wish Krsna good luck in creating great music in the future.”

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Mahtani, Co-Founder JSM Corp. said, “Hard Rock Cafe has always been an ardent supporter of upcoming talent in the country. We are extremely happy to launch Krsna as the artist for Contrabands and announce his tour at Hard Rock Cafes in various cities. This isn’t the first time Hard Rock Cafe has supported emerging artists; it is one of our clear focus areas and we will always extend our support to these artists and provide them with a platform that they truly deserve. Through Hard Rock Rising, Global Battle of the Bands and Contrabands, we continuously strive to do our best to develop the independent music scene. We are confident that all music lovers will love Krsna's performance and will help us make this tour a great success for him.”​

‘Princess bonding’ on the sets of Maharana Pratap

The world knows that girls can talk nineteen to a dozen. The same is being witnessed on the sets of Sony Entertainment Television’s Maharana Pratap. We know that Jannat Rahmani and Roshni Walia of Sony TV’s Maharana Pratap bond well onscreen as Phool Kanwar and Ajabde! But not all know that Jannat and Roshni hit off very well off camera too. The duos are portraying the role of best friends on screen are said to be best friends off screen too!! An insider from the sets informed us that the two princesses have been close friends since a long time and spend most of their time being together on the sets. They love playing pranks on each other and enjoy laughing and joking as well. 

Commenting on the same Jannat aka Phool Kunwar says, “I was really excited when I got this role as I always wanted to be a part of historical shows and Maharana Pratap is one of my favourite show. When I came to know that even Roshni will be sharing the screen space with me; I was extremely glad. I have known Roshni since two years and now she is more like a sister to me. We both have a gala time on sets as it’s always fun to work with your friends. 

Well that’s a cute friendship! 

Catch the fun and excitement on Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap from Monday to Thursday at 10:00 pm only on Sony Entertainment Television

Sony Music Entertainment Buys Strategic Stake In Infibeam Digital and Entertainment Pvt Ltd (INDENT)

          ~ To focus on distribution of Music and Videos across devices & channels~Infibeam Incorporation Pvt ltd (Infibeam) and global music giant Sony Music Entertainment have announced a definitive agreement, where in Sony Music has bought strategic stake in Infibeam Digital Entertainment (P) Ltd (INDENT).  Under this agreement, Infibeam will hold majority stake in the Company and Sony
Music will hold a 26% stake post completion of transaction.  Indent with its clear strategic focus will offer an attractive platform to large and medium music labels in India and International.  Any music label or brand holding rights to content can use the Indent platform to engage customers and monetize by distributing digital as well as physical content under their own brand with payment integrations.

Commenting on the same, Shridhar Subramaniam President India and Middle East, Sony Music Entertainment said, "Indent fills a need gap for all Music rights owners. As the digital eco system keeps evolving, there has been a strong need for an independent technology company that music companies can partner with to build innovative services and offerings. Every content owner has aspirations to reach consumers and brands directly, Indent empowers these labels with a scalable and commerce ready platform."

On this occasion Vishal Mehta, Founder & CEO Infibeam shared that "INDENT continues to build state-of-the-art inclusive digital platforms powering music applications installed on millions of mobile phones and high quality experience to music lovers.  Indent will enable brands, technology and music on common interface with innovative customer engagement models".

Sony Music is one of the largest and most integrated music companies in India owning digital music content rights with highly sophisticated marketing and distribution channels. Last year, Sony Music partnered with the new range of Sony Xperia Smartphones to launch 'Sony Music Jive' -  a first of its kind music service that allows consumers to download and stream music from the Sony Music Catalog of 2 million songs, which was powered by INDENT. Post the successful launch of the Jive application on the Xperia smartphones in India, the same application was launched in Indonesia, North Africa and Middle East markets.  The service was also extended to Sony VIAO laptops in 2013.

With large repository of music content, INDENT will continue developing applications for many large labels and brands with integrated Telco billing, OEM bundling and Social platforms. Currently, INDENT offers its service to SONY Music, INRECO (The Indian Record Manufacturing Company Ltd), to name a few.  Indent is projecting revenues of $3-5mm in current year.

About Sony Music:

Sony Music Entertainment is a global recorded music company with a current roster that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars. The company boasts a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. It is home to premier record labels representing music from every genre and artists like Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Santana,  Beyonce , Britney Spears, Ke$ha, Avril Lavigne, Shakira, Kings of Leon, Hurts, Foo Fighters, Pink , The Script to name a few.

A wholly owned subsidiary of SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT INDIA, boasts of an extensive catalogue that comprises of some of the most legendary recordings in history and is home to renowned and celebrated artists and several iconic Bollywood Film soundtracks.

For publishing, Sony Music India has a tie up with Sony/ATV wherein Sony/ATV exploits and manages Sony Music India’s publishing works overseas, likewise, Sony Music India manages Sony/ATV’s International works across four countries - India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.

In 2013, Sony Music Entertainment India and Warner Music Group announced a strategic licence deal for Sony Music to represent Warner Music's legendary recording artists' releases and labels in India, Sri Lanka and the other SAARC countries.

About Infibeam: 

Infibeam is the leading global provider of e-commerce technology platform Buildabazaar.com and owns flagship retail portal Infibeam.com(www.infibeam.com). The company has strong leadership team with tremendous focus in offering innovative platform services to clients in India and International.