Music Malt | culture, festivals and more

Warner/Chappell Music (WCM), the global music publishing arm of Warner Music Group, and Times Music, one of the leading music labels and publishers in India, have announced that the two companies have expanded their existing licensing deal to now cover several additional South Asian countries. The deal will see Times Music exclusively represent Warner/Chappell’s rich catalog in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for the first time, as well as renew their existing partnership in India. Times Music will manage the rights to Warner/Chappell’s repertoire in South Asia and drive publishing and synch deals on behalf of its wide array of legendary songwriters. “Warner/Chappell songwriters’ music knows no boundaries, and Times Music has been a fantastic partner in helping us extend their reach,” said Stephen Clark, Senior Vice President, Global Administration, Warner/Chappell Music. “The expansion of our partnership allows us to tap into new and vibrant markets with enormous growth

Delhi 2 Dublin, the international electronic pop bhangra fusion band recently launched the official music video of ‘We're All Desi’ from their album of the same name, shot with the local cast and crew in Dharavi slum in Mumbai, the largest slum in Asia. The band had recently visited the Mumbai for a music tour and decided to change the way how people portray life in the slums by adding a realistic yet filmy touch to it. The story of 5 Bantas (slang for ‘cool dude’) keeping it real in the slums of Dharavi is narrated by Delhi 2 Dublin as Jai, Veeru and the Gabbar gang straight out of the iconic film Sholay. The video features Siddhesh, Yogesh, Alex, David & Durgesh – kids that were playing & hanging around in the Dharavi area when the director and his crew went there for a location recce. This video is another glowing example of how much untapped talent resides in Dharavi. Edited by - Debjani Hazarika

Nagesh Kukunoor’s upcoming movie Dhanak, set in the desert of Rajasthan, is becoming the talk of the B-town because of Devu Khan’s rendition of the evergreen melody Dum-A-Dum. The inimitable voice behind Dum-A-Dum never received any professional training or schooling. Hailing from the Manganiyar community, 14 years old Devu Khan was raised by parents who earned their livelihood through folk singing. The celebrations and festivities in and around Barmer district of Rajasthan was the only training Devu ever received, making him an inspiration for many upcoming Folk artistes. Bollywood has witnessed quite a few versions of Dum-A-Dum, but Tapas Relia’s composition of the track has brought a new life to the timeless classic. Devu Khan’s voice has emerged out as a natural pool of talent in the parched desert of Rajasthan. Dhanak launched its first video track “Dum-A-Dum” featuring Krrish as “Chotu” and Hetal as “Pari” who set out on a journey to meet Shah Rukh Khan. The song capture

Catch all the action straight from Las Vegas on Monday, 23rd May at 6.30am primetime and a repeat at 9pm Vh1 is all set to bring its viewers one of the music industry’s most career defining award shows - the Billboard Music Awards 2016. The channel is geared to air the Billboard Music Awards straight from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on 23rd May at 6.30 AM with a primetime repeat at 9pm. Looking forward to the extremely popular award show, Ferzad Palia, EVP, Viacom18 & Head – English and Youth Entertainment, shares, “In the past, we have received an incredible response for the live telecast of the Golden Globe Awards and the Grammys. The telecast of Billboards is our endeavor to further our promise of showcasing the best in English Entertainment.” The 2016 Billboard Awards will see the always eccentric actor and singer Ludacris along with the gorgeous supermodel and singer Ciara as hosts of the show. Top nominees for the show include The Weeknd with a whopping 19 nominat

Prarthana Choudhury Prarthana Choudhury from Assam was honoured with the ‘Best Female Singer’ award at the 5th Artist Aloud Music Awards , announced on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 for her original Hindi song ‘Kaisi Khudgarzi’. The song is written, composed and sung by Prarthana. The award was handed by singing stalwarts Talat Aziz and Suneeta Rao. The grand awards ceremony was held in Mumbai at the prestigious ‘Blue Frog’, in association with Pepsi MTV Indies and RED FM. It was attended by bigwigs from the Bollywood and the Indie Pop-music industry. Artist Aloud Music Award, a Property of Hungama is one of India’s Digital Music Awards which felicitates artistes from India and across the globe for proficiency in Independent Music. Prarthana sings in various genres of music and has been among the selected few artists invited to perform at the Jagjit Singh Music Festival recently held in Mumbai. She has sung for several Assamese audio & video albums. She was one of the 10 finalis

What? Jaipur Literature Festival When? 21st May, 10 am till sunset Where? The Royal Festival Hall, South Bank Centre, London Jaipur Literature Festival returns to the South Bank Centre for its third consecutive year in May, 2016 with a creative caravan of writers and thinkers, poets and balladeers. A heady cocktail of influential thinkers embracing politics, religion, the oral and performing arts, Bollywood, gender politics and tales of the Raj. Showcasing South Asia’s unique multilingual heritage, JLF at Southbank is an intense teaser of what has been declared the 'greatest literary show on Earth'. The London edition of JLF retains and resonates with the unique spirit of the annual Jaipur Literature Festival, which has firmly established its place in the global literary calendar as the world’s largest free literature festival. Festival Directors Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple bring together a day talks, music and readings. JLF at Southbank will be held i

'MAXBhp & North East Bikers Brotherhood Mega Meet' is a 2 Day Motorcycling Festival held in Umiam on April 22 and 23, 2016 supported by Metropolis Asia and eXSports . An initiative of xBhp, India's biggest motorcycling community in India, the fest is a celebration of machines, a platform to connect all riders from various corners of the country in and a platform to share their ideas, exchange cultures, knowledge and skills, display their custom, vintage and super bikes and also to explore the mesmerizing Northeast India. Below are few moments of the event. MAXbhp. Festival Of Machines. Metropolis Tour 2016. Meghalaya (photo-Avhinav Singh) MAXbhp. Festival Of Machines. Metropolis Tour 2016. Meghalaya (photo-Kalyan Changmai) MAXbhp. Festival Of Machines. Metropolis Tour 2016. Meghalaya (photo-Kalyan Changmai) MAXbhp. Festival Of Machines. Metropolis Tour 2016. Meghalaya (photo-Avhinav Singh) MAXbhp. Festival Of Machines. Metropolis Tour 2016. Meghalay

"Youth is a life stage or a mindset" - the debate continues across boardrooms. But, what everyone agrees is that it is extremely difficult to earn their attention and love. Change is the new order. Born with a technology gene, youngsters today are comfortable with the concept of change. Every year MTV undertakes a massive immersive research to capture the trending themes of this generation and highlight the emergent trends. This year, MTV is launching its biggest youth study ever that covers 11000 youngsters across 50+ cities across India. Aptly titled ‘MTV Many Me Project’, this in-depth research explores the many facets of youth life - their attitudes, motivations, aspirations and anxieties that was presented with much fanfare at the MTV Youth Marketing Forum 2016–flagship insights event that studies and dissects the world of the youth. Explaining the theme of ‘The Many Me Project’ further, Ferzad Palia, Head – Youth and English Entertainment, Viacom18 said, “The Many M