MUMBAI: After months of hard work and brainstorming, the team at Music2Deal (India) has created quite a stir in the European music market. Their recent initiative – the PLAY@POPKOMM Contest and an Indian delegation they took to POPKOMM 2010, at the Berlin music week, was a successful project. Music2Deal.com sponsored Vasuda Sharma – Delhi-based songwriter and vocalist on a fully funded trip to Berlin, making her the first Indian artiste ever at POPKOMM.

This project was a massive opportunity for Indian music, considering India's presence has never been marked before, at the Berlin Music Week or any other music event of such magnitude. This is indeed a big achievement for the country's independent music professionals. The India stand at POPKOMM 2010 was thronged by crowds and Music2Deal's Indian delegation beamed with pride as even the Mayor of Berlin couldn't resist paying the stand a visit. It was a great experience having India at Popkomm for the first time. A lot of music companies are looking for new markets, contacts and artists. India is definitely one of the countries which is interesting for the international music business since it has got so much potential..., says Dr. Ralf Kleinhenz, Managing Director, POPKOMM 2010.

Making India's presence even more magical was Vasuda Sharma – the winner of Music2Deal.com's PLAY@POPKOMM Contest, who left the audiences spellbound with her brilliant performance with the Loop Station. Vasuda was picked among 460 other artists to open the artist showcases at POPKOMM 2010, and one cannot miss the excitement in her voice as she says, Being the only artist from India and representing the country was a dream too big. Now that it has come true, words fail me when I have to describe my experience. It's a wonderful initiative taken up by Music2Deal to promote independent artists and I really hope they continue to promote indie music in India....

So what do international music professionals who attended POPKOMM have to say about Indian music? Richard Rogers, one of the judges of the PLAY@POPKOMM contest & (profile) who was immensely impressed with this initiative, said - It is obvious to see that India has enormous potential as an international market for the music industry, and Music2Deal has done a fantastic job of tapping this potential; that too through a huge event like POPKOMM....

The European music community has praises galore for Vasuda. Manfred Zahringer, MD Iceberg records and Manager for the Danish band Blue Van says, Vasuda is a very interesting artist. It's probably not easy to find a niche in this very vast quantity of music over here but Vasuda could really have a chance to become a player over here.... Incidentally, Blue Van will be touring India this year-end, which is a big development post-POPKOMM.

So, what's the outcome of this initiative? What can the Indian Music Industry look forward to, post POPKOMM 2010? Says Mr. Sudhir Shreedharan, Traditionally, India was never a major market for European artistes. POPKOMM 2010 is a big achievement for both India and Music2Deal, as this project has put India on the global music market. A lot of international collaborations between Indian artistes and European bands are on the cards. The fact that the genres popular in these territories are distinctly different makes such collaborations an interesting challenge....

It's time to see the plan put to action, and usher in good times for Indian Indie!