Nokia India has introduced "Nokia Music Theatre" - a premier platform for discovering and nurturing musical talent from the grassroots and providing them with an opportunity to showcase their talent in line with its strategy to connect people to their passions.
Nokia Music Theatre (NMT), the result of the partnership between Nokia India and The Peninsula Studios, is an effort to nurture the rich and diverse musical heritage of India. Nokia Music Theatre aims to provide a 360-degree support to talented musicians across the country transcending boundaries of languages, genres and musical forms.
The project was successfully piloted in Rajasthan in 2010 where 17 artistes were handpicked from small towns and villages across the State. The pilot culminated with the launch of the first music album -"Asha - discovery of the Peninsula" under the banner of NMT and published by Universal Music. The album is also available for download on the Nokia Music Store.
Viral Oza, Marketing Director, Nokia India, said, "Nokia has a formidable musical legacy - from Nokia Music Store, the largest repository of legal and digital Indian music, to offering DRM free music on our recently launched Nokia Asha series of feature phones -we have built a strong music connect with Indians. India is one of the key markets for our music portfolio and, with the NMT, we aim to discover the musical talent at the grassroot and provide these budding musicians with a platform to nurture and showcase their talent."
Devraj Sanyal, MD, Universal Music India & SAARC, said, "This project is very close to our heart and we think that the NMT along with The Peninsula Studios (TPS) and us will be a major paradigm shift in the music publishing scene in India. I expect to see a brand new set of musicians that have never had the chance to showcase their art before be discovered and published due to this great initiative and 'Asha' - the first album is exactly this."
After Rajasthan, UP will be the next stop for "NMT" which takes off in the autumn of 2012.
