Vh1 partners with Seagram's 100 Pipers for music fest

English entertainment channel Vh1 and Seagram's 100 Pipers have partnered to launch a music festival called 'Sound Nation'.

To be held in six cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune - the event will witness performances by "cult" performers such as Parikrama, Midival Punditz, Lost Stories, Dualist Inquiry, Indus Creed and Nucleya.

According to Ferzad Palia, SVP and GM, English entertainment, Viacom18 Media, "This is something we have wanted to do for a very long time and then we found a partner whose objective is also same as ours. There has been no grand showcase of the best Indian English talent so far and also no one has actually showcased it to the audiences. So we decided to see what we can do with these talents. We also want to take them to the international platform. We are also working closely with our counterparts in other markets to see how we can expand the footprint of this kind of content beyond India."

Girish Patil, AGM marketing, Pernod Ricard India, adds, "Our association with music has been a long standing one and we are excited to partner with Vh1 for Sound Nation which aims to celebrate and recognise local music talent. 100 Pipers Vh1 Sound Nation will engage music lovers through live performances across the country leading to an awards night."

The awards will be given in 13 categories including Best Rock Act, Best Electronic DJ, Best Music Video, Best New Artist, Artist of the Year, Best Metal Act, Handpicked Song of the Year, Best Global Indian, Best Hip Hop DJ, Best Hip Hop Artist, Best Electronic Act, Best Live Performance and 100 Pipers Vh1 Hall of Fame.

The channel will shortlist 10-15 nominees in each category and these will be sent to the judging panel. After their response to the entries, VH1 will further select five and send them back to the judges to finalise a winner.

While Palia refused to divulge the investment made on the annual property, he says, "It's a significant investment property because there are so many gigs, an elaborative mass media plan, top artists and various other logistics like at one time, we are doing four-five gigs in different cities. So that can't come cheap."

The 10-day event will be supported by a 360 degree marketing campaign including various on-ground and online integrations. The campaign will run across print publications and is already hammering on TV. Besides, social media activities have already begun, along with digital advertising and OOH promotions.

Although different venues have diverse capacities, the channel expects packed houses on all 23 gigs. "We are aiming at reaching out to around 15,000-20,000 people who would experience these gigs. We are targeting audiences who are at a legal drinking age to come in since these events are happening in places like bars. We are targeting people of 20 to 35 years but having said that, there will be different audiences coming out for different artists," Palia adds.

The channel will put together the entire event and air it. Vh1 plans to rope in another three-four advertisers as partners for the event.