State of independence

Nokia invests in emerging music in Asia

What?: Nokia launched IAC (Independent Artists Club) in October 2007, with the aim of engaging with music fans at a grassroots level. IAC provides a central platform for emerging artists across the Asia Pacific region, enabling them to reach an audience hungry to discover new and breaking artists. Artists upload their tracks, bios, etc. and users rate their favourite tracks to compile a chart exposing the best music to both consumers and the industry.

The platform (available on both web and mobile) extends beyond digital to provide IAC-branded live music events and embedded content for Nokia handsets. The first monthly IAC Chart launched on the 1st January 2008. The platform is currently available in seven territories: Bangladesh; Indonesia; Malaysia; the Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; and Vietnam.

Nokia also embedded 10 of the top IAC tracks onto its refreshed XpressMusic 5310 and 5610 handsets. The chosen tracks also featured on IAC’s first Tastemakers’ Feast sampler CDs, which now go out to key music industry figures in each IAC market every month.

So what?: The Independent Artists Club works in tandem with the emerging independent music scene across Asia, focusing in on the wealth of homegrown talent available. With 65% of music consumed in Indonesia coming from local artists, for example, Nokia harnesses the true breadth of music bubbling under the radar across Asia.

A recent survey suggested that digital advertisements for mobile devices and operators were the most frequently recalled by Asian consumers. In fact, Nokia came out on top in the majority of surveyed markets. Nokia has seen 40% growth in Asia in Q1 of this year, due to a strong lead in emerging markets such as China and India. IAC offers genuine promotion for artists and unparalled access to new music for fans across the full spectrum of the Asian market.

“IAC is a smart multi-channel platform that delivers on a very real artist need in the Asian region. In a very disparate market, IAC allows participating bands to achieve both industry and public exposure through online, mobile and live events. Nokia’s ability to enable and power this platform is a powerful brand play which helps to establish its right to be in the music space.”
Jeremy Patterson, Director of Content & Production, FRUKT

www.nokia-asia.com