MUMBAI : Big FM has created history of sorts in the country by becoming the first radio station to tie up with an arist 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.