Qyuki, Universal Music Tie-up to Promote Young Artistes

The artistes will sing cover versions of songs from the catalogue of music, across genres and also monetise content thus created.

Qyuki.com, a music focused multi-channel network (MCN) has forged a creative alliance with Universal Music Group, and its affiliated publishing entity, Universal Music Publishing Group to promote young talented artistes.

Co-founded by A.R. Rahman, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and digital professional, Samir Bangara, Qyuki helps creators build their fan-following by producing and distributing online videos with the aim to create enduring intellectual properties.

This alliance will bring on board renowned and established names from the Indian music industry whilst also promoting and developing upcoming independent musicians. This partnership will help artistes to sing cover versions of songs from the catalogue of music, across genres and also monetize content thus created. In addition, Qyuki and Universal will jointly develop new music based content formats.

The three will scout and promote independent songwriters and artists and help them develop their careers by producing videos, building a fan following and optimising their online video presence on Youtube and other digital video platforms. The partnership also promises to cross barriers, revamping existing content and create new opportunities for musical talent.

The first initiative called "The Sofa" - a live Google hangout, which gives fans opportunity to interact with their favourite music stars and gain insights into their world of music, has been launched. On launch day, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan interacted with fans about his latest album Back 2 Love and his upcoming projects. Another initiative that has been launched aimed at breathing new life into the devotional music genre, through the creation of lyrical audio-visual videos, rendered by some the finest artistes of the Indian music industry.

Speaking about the association, Devraj Sanyal, managing director, Universal Music/EMI Music, South Asia, says, "Our objective through this alliance is to create new digital monetisation avenues of existing content libraries and also provide access to a vast pool of curated artistes from the Qyuki network."

Samir Bangara, co-founder and MD, Qyuki.com states, "The Qyuki-Universal tie-up is a game changer for the digital music scenario in India providing independent artistes a democratic platform with tools and infrastructure to break out into the mainstream."

Achille Forler, managing director of Universal Music Publishing Group, adds, "This alliance is testimony that the music business, which is undergoing change beyond recognition, keeps its focus on discovering, nurturing and promoting new talent while generating revenue for the established authors and composers."

Universal Music India is a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Universal Music Group (UMG) and is home to record labels such as A&M Records, Blue Note Records, Capitol Records, Capitol Records Nashville, Caroline, Decca and Def Jam Recordings. It has an Indian catalogue comprising songs from classic Hindi and regional films, IndiPop, Bhangra, Ghazals and Devotional.