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MUMBAI:
Big FM has become the first radio station to tie up with an
artist to market a single composed and sung by him.
Sonu
Niigaam's single 'Punjabi Please' will not only just be played
on its radio station 92.7 FM from 3 March, it will soon be
clubbed with Niigaam's other songs and released on CDs.
 While
the single has already been made available for download on
many paid online portals, Big will come up with a music video
for the song in two weeks. The station has also tied up with
many service providers for availability of ringtones of the
song. Says Big's marketing vice president Anand Chakravarthy,
"We do not want the song to be limited to us, and other
radio stations are also allowed to play the song on their
radio stations. But as we own the copyright for the song,
the radio stations would have to pay us the royalties."
The
song is currently available only for downloads online at Big
Digital, sister concern of Big FM and also other paid online
portals but after the popularity of the song, a CD with some
of the best songs of Sonu will be released in the market soon.
Niigaam
performed a live rendition of 'I want d Punjabi please' at
the release function in Mumbai on Monday.
As
the song has a Punjabi theme, Niigaam delighted audiences
by playing the 'Punjabi Dhool' and said his album is a tribute
to the Punjabi spirit. "I have seen that whenever I perform
in India and abroad, there would be Punjabis who would demand
a Punjabi song to be sung. So, my song is a tribute to all
those people demanding Punjabi songs".
Asked
about his choice of radio as a medium to launch the song,
Sonu said, "Radio is the medium which reaches millions
today and so it is an innovative concept to release a song
on radio rather than on television. I guess radio could well
mark the beginning of a golden era in music and would change
the face of the music industry in the country."
Chakravarthy
said, "This is the first time in the history of radio
entertainment that a radio station has tied up with an artist
to market a product to entertain mass audiences. Although
this concept exists in the west, we mainly aim to popularise
this song and then launch it in CD format clubbed with another
hit songs by Sonu".
More
such tie ups are in store in the near future, says Chakravarthy."The
basic intention is providing quality music to our listeners
which vary in millions."
 Other
campaigns by the channel include an interactive contest "Sing
with Sonu", wherein five singers from across the country
will get an opportunity to sing and perform with Sonu Niigaam
during a five city tour comprising Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore,
Kolkata and Chandigarh. "The idea behind doing this is
to find musical talents across states and provide them with
a platform to pursue their dreams", says Niigaam.
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