*Sawariya to receive 16-HSM-city launch from 2 pm on Wednesday
MUMBAI: Music labels are getting more aggressive to co-opt FM Radio networks to play out non-film music, and Saregama India has been busy with various networks, seeking out the biggest to launch such albums. In end-2010 we saw it tie up with the network with the largest physical presence, BIG FM, to launch its Asha Bhosle-Shujaat Khan album across all HSMs. And today, Hidayat Hussain, the son of the legendary Ustad Vilayat Khan, is out with his second album, Sawariya, and Saregama has tied up with the nation’s second largest FM Radio network, Radio City, to launch it.
Hidayat will visit the Radio City studio on Tuesday to record for a 3-hour episode that will air on Wednesday, the 12th of January, from 2 pm to 5 pm in the show, Hum Tum. Hidayat will not only speak about the album, but will also play impromptu pieces on the sitar for listeners. The launch special of Sanwariya will air across all Radio City stations in 16 Hindi Speaking Markets, which are Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Nagpur, Ahmednagar, Sangli, Akola, Jalgaon, Sholapur, Nanded, Jaipur and Lucknow.
Saregama MD Apurv Nagpal told RadioAndMusic.com, We believe that Radio and Music can work and prosper together, and each needs the other. I have always loved to share views with enlightened Radio leaders like Apurva Purohit of Radio City, Prashant Panday of Radio Mirchi, Soumen Ghosh Choudhury of BIG FM, and many others, because there is a lot of positivity and forward thinking that can not only help music labels, but, through the labels’ non-film albums, help Radio to expand the scope of musical genres in the programming mix. It’s a win-win situation for both. We had started this trend of launching non-film music with the Asha Bhosle-Shujaat Khan album on BIG FM, and I am delighted that now, Apurva (Purohit), with whom I have always shared wonderful rapport and mutual respect, is helping us launch Sawariya through Radio City, with whom we are delighted to partner yet again. Ultimately, such initiatives augur extremely well for the listeners….
Apurva Purohit, CEO, Radio City, told RadioAndMusic.com, We have always had an excellent relationship with Saregama, and are delighted to be able to take the music of Sawariya to our listeners as a special musical treat. Radio City always endeavours to keep its listeners engaged and entertained, and we strive to push the envelope in terms of innovative programming….
Sawariya, is a pleasing melodious mix of new age and lounge, in which he uses both his singing and sitar skills effectively. â€?Hidayat can rock’ enthused The Daily Star, and his second album promises to live up to that praise.
While Radio City will launch the album, Saregama, to drive CD purchase, has announced that some of the cds will have lucky coupons that will give the buyers a change to win a trip to New York to have dinner with Hidayat Hussain, and a drive in his Lamborghini.
Another such notable initiative to expand the genres of music in the radio programming mix that was begun recently — albeit not from a music label for its artistes but from a Radio station alone –has been Radio One’s One Chennai One Music showcasing popular private bands in the city.