Nokia presents Independent Artists Club

Nokia announced early this week the successful rollout of the Independent Artists Club (IAC), a program that will promote the discovery of homegrown music and talent from the Asia-Pacific.

The IAC not only provides opportunities for new artists from around the region to be heard by people from across the world, but also gives music fans a new platform to discover new music that’s available in countries across the Asia-Pacific.

With more than 200 million music-enabled Nokia handsets currently in use across the world and with plans to roll out music services as part of Ovi, Nokia is in a unique position not only to provide a platform to promote new artists and music, but also to offer those artists one of the world’s most compelling distribution opportunities — the mobile phone.

The IAC has been rolled out progressively across the region, including countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand over the last three months.  

Unsigned artists were invited to upload their tracks and have those tracks rated, consumed and downloaded by music lovers.

Artists that accumulate the most votes for their tracks via the IAC website will be listed in the Nokia Independent Artists Club Chart, which will be distributed regularly to the media and industry.

They will also be given the chance to perform at Nokia-sponsored events and concerts, and participate in marketing and publicity initiatives for the IAC.

“Music is an important pillar of our Consumer Internet Services strategy, so it is important for us to nurture the local music industry, which will ultimately be the catalyst for great local content to be discovered and appreciated by consumers,” said Sandeep Khanna, marketing head of Nokia Philippines.

“We hope to make the IAC a living entity for artists to showcase their talent, and a resource for consumers to get their music fill,” he added.

For indie bands or artists who wish to put their songs in our list, visit www.nokia-asia.com/iac/submissions and simply register. 

Follow the steps and fill in the necessary information to successfully upload your tracks.  Music lovers can check out the IAC website and download music at www.nokia.com.ph/iac.

From the IAC website, Nokia device owners can download up to 10 full tracks per month for free, and non-Nokia device owners can download up to five full tracks per month for free (MP3 and AAC formats only). — Manny de los Reyes