MUMBAI: Allied Blenders and Distillers in collaboration with Universal Music India, today, announced the official launch of the Sterling Reserve Music Project, the region’s first enabler platform to discover, incubate and promote emerging musical talent from India on a global scale.

At the launch event, Sterling Reserve Music Project introduced fourth release of the platform. The song features an upcoming talent R.S. Chauhan featuring Ikka, a prominent Punjabi rapper and Rishi Rich. The single is an original composition where an established singer has mentored an emerging artist.

The evening began with Devraj Sanyal Managing Director and CEO of Universal Music and EMI Music, India and South Asia, COO Bikram Basu Allied Blenders and Distillers and Olivier Robert-Murphy Global head, Universal Music Group and Brands, sharing insights.

The event was then followed by a performance showcase by recently launched artists and their tracks, namely Anushqa with Hear Me, Left Turn with Dil Mera and Arunaja with Broken.

The fourth track, set to release globally on Sterling Reserve Music Project, YoYo, was a high energy performance by R.S. Chauhan and Ikka.

Commenting on the launch, Allied Blenders and Distillers COO Bikram Basu said, “We are excited to build this very enabling Sterling Reserve Music Project. We find artists and artists find us. It provides young talent with a platform to showcase their work to the fullest. Universal Music has a critical understanding of music and the talent ecosystem- and we share the passion. The brand idea is to chase the next - unearthing new talent, contemporary sound works perfectly for us.”

Providing insight into the Project, Universal Music and EMI Music, India and South Asia Managing Director and CEO Devraj Sanyal said, “The purpose of Sterling Reserve Music Project is to incubate and grow unique talent in India. A culturally rich nation like India has an abundance of creative talent and this platform aims to act as a catalyst to create a significant music-driven movement in India. We already have strong proof of the concept is successful based on the runaway success of our first three songs. We are now confident that our fourth track YoYo will be received with even more love and support from the region.”

Punjabi rapper Ikka also said, “I’m so excited to present R.S. Chauhan’s sound to the world on Sterling Reserve Music Project. It’s heartening to see a platform like Sterling Reserve Music Project enable young artists, like R.S. Chauhan and breakout their releases in such a meaningful way. I was really happy to work with Rishi Rich and get his support on the song YoYo.

The Sterling Reserve Music Project is India’s first enabler platform for independent music and aims to be one of the largest incubators for music talent in India. The Project will produce 20 titles in the next two years through five established artists and 15 upcoming artists.