NOKIA PREMIERES RABBI SHERGILL'S NEW MUSIC ALBUM EXCLUSIVELY ON NSERIES DEVICES


-For the first time in India, a music album launches on a mobile device prior to its worldwide launch -

New Delhi, – Nokia Nseries, the premium multimedia sub-brand of Nokia has joined hands with India's leading fusion artist Rabbi Shergill to premiere his new music album in digital format on its Nseries devices. This marks the first ever launch of a complete music album on a mobile handset prior to its physical launch. Titled 'Avengi Ja Nahi', the yet to be released album has 9 soul stirring numbers. It will be exclusively available across the country for a month on the iconic Nokia Nseries multimedia devices; N95, the N70 Music Edition and the N73 Music Edition. Thereafter, it will be launched on music CDs by Yash Raj Music in May. The album was unveiled on Nseries devices in New Delhi by Rabbi Shergill and Devinder Kishore, Director Marketing, Nokia India.

This new offering takes forward the Nseries promise of offering the Next Episode in Entertainment on mobile devices. "At Nokia we believe that the mobile device is emerging as the Fourth Screen for entertainment after the big screen, the television and the personal computer. Our endeavor has been to offer the best of entertainment on the go on the best of devices. This announcement breaks new ground for mobile music and entertainment in India, bringing people closer to their passion of music and performers closer to listeners in ways we would never have imagined," said Devinder Kishore, Director Marketing, Nokia India.

Activating Rabbi's new album on Nokia Nseries Devices

Five simple steps to listen the album:

  • Scratch the silver strip on your Nseries package to get your activation code
  • SMS 'New India' to 55555
  • You will receive multiple activation confirmations
  • On receiving the activation message select the song that you wish to play.
  • Open the song and groove to the music
(Source: Gartner, COAI, Gartner)

Speaking on the occasion, Rabbi Shergill said, "Music has been my passion since childhood and it brings out the real emotions in me. I enjoy giving people an enchanting experience with newer forms and fusions of music. It gives me great pleasure to join hands with Nokia Nseries and offer these songs exclusively to Nseries consumers." The mobile version of the album has a special foreword from Rabbi and also an individual introduction to each song by him.

In addition to Rabbi's 'Avengi Ja Nahi', the Nokia Nseries devices will also come packaged with 100 DRM compliant songs across genres ranging from popular film music to international artists.

Nokia Nseries My Music My Muse
As part of this unique music experience, Nokia Nseries also rolled out a first of its kind contest, titled Nokia Nseries My Music My Muse, targeted at young music enthusiasts in the country. The contest invites aspiring participants above 18 years of age to shoot a video using their mobile phones for Rabbi's lead track from the album 'Bilqis'. The theme is 'sharing inspirations' and each film has to be at most 20 seconds long. 30 short listed entries will be judged by Rabbi himself and footage from the best 5 entries will be edited to create a 3 minute online music video for the song. This will be first user generated online Indian music video.

According to Rabbi, "Bilqis is one of my favorite tracks from the new album. It revolves around various things that inspire an artist, which is why the theme of the contest is 'sharing inspirations'. I am glad that Nokia Nseries is offering such an exciting yet sensitive platform to music enthusiasts. It will also bring me closer to my fans. This is perhaps the only initiative of its kind that brings to the forefront the unique and passionate mix of technology & music." This contest opens up another chapter in the Web 2.0 story with consumers becoming broadcasters and carries forward the Nseries strategy of enabling people to explore, capture and share their experiences using mobile devices.

Simple Participation Steps for the Contest

  • Log on to www.mymusicmymuse.in and register yourself online
  • Create his own version of a video for the song Bilqis from Rabbi's new album using a mobile handset.
  • The theme is 'Sharing Inspirations'
  • The video must be maximum of 20 seconds long and as per formats specified in the rules and regulations
  • Upload the video on to the same site
  • Only one entry / one video per contestant will be permitted
  • Only one participant is allowed per team, i.e. the video has to be created by a single individual.
  • The contest opens on April 10, 2008
  • Last date for receipt of entries is May 5, 2008
  • 5 winners, shortlisted by Rabbi himself, will be announced on May 10, 2008
  • Footage from the winning entries will be edited and converted into an online music video for 'Bilqis'


About Rabbi Shergill
A graduate from Delhi's Khalsa College, Rabbi was a part of the local hard-rock music scene in his graduation days. Inspired by Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Jimmy Page, Rabbi started writing his own songs and made a few demos. Rabbi Shergill (born 1975) is an Indian musician famous for his debut album Rabbi and the chart-topper song of 2005, Bulla Ki Jana. His music has been described variously as rock, Sufiana, and "semi-Sufi semi-folksy kind of music with a lot of Western arrangements." Rabbi himself has been called "Punjabi music's true urban balladeer". Rabbi's father was a Sikh preacher and his mother is a college principal and also a Punjabi poetess. He is the only son among the five children. After his college he started at the Fore School of Management but dropped out after a year.

About Nokia Nseries
Nokia Nseries is a range of high performance multimedia devices that delivers unparalleled mobile multimedia experiences by combining the latest technologies with stylish design and ease of use. With Nokia Nseries products, consumers can use a single device to enjoy entertainment, access information and to capture and share pictures and videos, on the go at any time.