MUMBAI: Giving a neck-to-neck competition to Bollywood music in India, indie music and artists are garnering recognition and public in the country for their musical compositions. While music labels have been in the forefront to pick these gems and endorse their talent, radio stations like RED FM have also joined the league.

The popular radio network had recently announced their new platform, RED Indies, which aims to promote independent artists and their music in the country. While the project’s further details are yet-to-be-revealed, RED FM COO Nisha Narayanan spoke to Radioandmusic about the platform that has much in the store.

Also Read: RED FM: Ranjit Pathak calls RED Indies 'branded movement' while Malishka finds it 'revolutionary'

Commenting on the idea of having a platform for indie music, RED FM and Magic FM COO and director Nisha Narayanan said, “These past couple of years have truly seen a resurgence of Indie music with phenomenal talent emerging from all corners of our country. RED FM has always been known to play superhit music and with RED Indies, we want to support independent music and artists as well as discover new music and present it to the audience for them to choose. This initiative is essentially a language agnostic platform and is a sub brand of the larger brand that is RED FM.”

It was earlier informed by Malishka and RED FM programming head Rajit Pathak had earlier spoke about the possibility of a show though they didn’t reveal the format. When we asked Narayanan about the same, she said, “We will be soon launching our campaign under the umbrella of RED Indies and all strategies will be disclosed once we announce it.”

On being quizzed about indie artists and if they will be signed by RED FM for RED Indies,  RED FM COO revealed, “We are in talks with multiple artists who are doing well in the independent music space. Please watch out for the launch of the campaign to know more.”

When asked, how promising does she find indie music, Nisha Narayanan explained, “Over the last decade, the rise of digital media has empowered independent artists from regional states across India to showcase their talent and reach out to a wider set of audiences.With independent regional music being the next big thing, RED Indies will play an important part to bring out the hidden talent in India.”

Radio’s remarkable reach makes it the third largest medium in the world. On being asked how radio as a platform can help in promoting indie music, Narayanan said, “While independent labels provide variety and repertoire to the music industry, radio, as a mass medium, can be an enabling platform to showcase the talent by promoting them on the medium.”

She further added, “Being a radio station, which has presence in 69 cities, each time we go to these local markets, be it North, East or any part of the country, we always witness remarkable local music. However, due to business constraints we haven’t been able to capture the very essence of independent music. With RED Indies, I believe this is the time where this genre should get a platform of its own.”

“Eventually, the story is all about discovering new music and new artists. Therefore, what we intend to do is not just give popular Bollywood music as an offering but to also discover new music. We are also envisioning a future where great music is played on the radio irrespective of whether the music is Bollywood or independent. As radio channels, good music should be the only celebration,” Nisha Narayanan concluded.

Renowned names like Arjun Kanungo, Darshal Raval, Sukriti and Prakriti Kakar, who attended the launch event on World Music Day, are expected to be a part of the initiative.

Also Read: Sukriti and Prakriti Kakar to appear on RED Indies