MUMBAI: An established presence in the music industry around the world, Pepsi supports music and artists at every level – from emerging and rising talent to global music icons. The global Pepsi Music Accelerator program discovers and supports global emerging artists, becoming a true partner in the development of the artists' careers by providing scale, global reach, promotional muscle and innovative resources to increase visibility, provoke fan engagement and elevate artists beyond cultural and physical borders. As part of Pepsi's global Music Accelerator program, Pepsi India last week launched ‘Pepsi Unbox' – a nationwide hunt to discover the next big indie band!

Bringing the Pepsi Music Accelerator program to India, Pepsi Unbox provides a unique opportunity for emerging artists in India to win an epic prize- a trip to Singapore to perform at Music Matters Live 2015– Asia's premiere independent music festival featuring over 70 bands, as well as the biggest names in the music industry. In addition to playing at the festival, including one performance on the Fountain Stage, the winning band will also attend the conference and the Music Matters Academy –a mentoring programme wherein bands receive money-can't-buy first-hand experience from international industry leaders to learn about the business of music. Bands like Indus Creed, Dualist Inquiry, Pentagram and more have previously represented India at the festival.

The Pepsi Unbox hunt has already received an unprecedented response, with over 300 entries from emerging artists. An elite and international jury, comprising of Music Matters executives in Hong Kong and Singapore, music marketing experts from Pepsi, and Indian indie stalwarts such as Ankur Tiwari will judge the entries. The search is on for the next fresh and unique sound from the indie music scene and Pepsi Unbox will be the ultimate accelerator for new and emerging bands to showcase their original music to the world.

Speaking about ‘Pepsi Unbox', PepsiCo India senior director marketing – social beverages  Ruchira Jaitly said, "We are excited to bring the Pepsi Music Accelerator program to India and announce Pepsi Unbox, a totally unique band hunt – that not only discovers the country's best emerging talent in the indie genre but also gives them a global platform like Music Matters Live to showcase their talent to an international audience and learn from industry experts. Through our associations with Music Matters and Pepsi MTV Indies, we will further continue to create differentiated opportunities and experiences for our consumers."

On the association with Pepsi and the launch of Pepsi Unbox,  MTV and Pepsi MTV Indies EVP and business head Aditya Swamy said "Unboxing fresh new talent and sounds is a very core part of Pepsi MTV Indies. Artists and fans are both hungry for new sounds and this is a platform that will be life changing to musicians and to the scene. By bringing together the business and creative side of music, Pepsi Unbox will produce a complete musician, ready to rock the world."

Last date of submission is 22 April  2015.