NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 23, 2006: Punjabi pop, heavy metal, hard rock and tuneless songs from some of the recent Hindi flicks. These are some genres that lack appeal, especially when it blares from your mobile phone. For more evolved tastes, Airtel, in partnership with Music Today, is offering a new genre of music – Indian classical – to its 20 million subscribers. “The business of ringtones,” says Hemant Sachdev, director, marketing & communications, “is helping India to soar to a new global position.” Promoting the Indian classical genre at the announcement were music maestros Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma. Airtel subscribers can download various genres in Indian classical music including thumri, dadra and khayal, besides Carnatic music too. “We have been working on this initiative for the past six months,” confirms Gurmeet Singh, business director, Music Today. The music company has snipped nearly 100 classical tunes to 35-40 seconds pieces for Airtel and is already working on another 100 melodies to be edited especially for ring tones.
A daily summary of world news for Hindus and non-Hindus alike