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Spotify strikes deal with India's largest record label
Spotify and T-Series, India's largest music record label and film production company, announced a new content agreement that will bring a huge library of Indian music to the streaming platform, according to Variety. T-Series' catalog of music includes more than 160,000 songs including tracks from popular Indian artists and major Bollywood movie soundtracks.
Bollywood star Salman Khan is coming to Amazon Prime Video
Amazon has made no secret of its ambitions when it comes to TV and film; after all, it just took another step towards becoming a full-fledged film studio by handling distribution for one of its movies. Now, the retail giant has locked in a streaming deal for one of India's biggest film stars: Salman Khan is coming to Amazon Prime Video.
The After Math: Pop culture phenoms
Quentin Tarantino is taking some serious flack this week for his comments on the #BlackLivesMatter debate. As such, we're taking a look at some other franchises that are sure to get your geek blood pumping harder than the first time you listened to Gangnam Style. Here are the numbers you deserve, not the numbers you need right now.
Netflix will produce original Bollywood and anime programs
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced the service will offer more original content in 2016, including Bollywood and anime programming. During his talk with New York Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin at the DealBook conference, he said that the company is always looking at new ways to introduce unique shows that other streaming services don't have. Next year Netflix is looking to spend around $5 billion on content alone and since it launched in Japan on September 2, there's never been a better time to broaden the scope of programming with an international focus. What type of Bollywood or anime programs will Netflix release? Hastings didn't mention specifically, only noting that it has taken risks before and they've paid off (like Narcos, for example). Get ready for longer bouts of aimless scrolling on nights you're feeling indecisive.
Bollywood music hit Dhingana launches dynamic adaptive streaming on iOS
India's leading on-demand music service Dhungana has updated its iOS app to be the first app outside of the US that offers Apple's dynamic adaptive streaming for music playback. As we told you about last February, Apple's dynamic adaptive streaming allows mobile users to access their streaming music in a less bandwidth-intensive manner. For example, those with fast Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G connections would hear their streaming music in high-quality stereo while those with slower 2G or EDGE connections would hear their streaming audio in mono. The exciting thing here is that no matter what your mobile data speed is, you'll still be able to hear your streaming audio uninterrupted and without having to manually adjust any settings yourself. Along with dynamic adaptive streaming, the company also announced today that it has more than 2 million mobile users, of which 56% are in the US and Europe. US users alone stream more than 30 million minutes of Bollywood and Indian Pop music per month. When all countries are combined Dhungana's users stream over 60 million minutes per month. The Dhingana app is a free download and it's universal -- so it works both on iPhone and iPad. If you're bored listening to the same tunes you hear on the radio day in an day out, give Dhingana a try. It's a great way to discover new music and now with its dynamic adaptive streaming you'll never miss a beat.
The Guild's new music video: Game On
The Guild has released a new music video, which was originally debuted at San Diego Comic-Con last week. This time, they've jumped from the virtual scene into the Bollywood scene. Zaboo (Sandeep Parikh) leads a song in which he tries to convince Codex (Felicia Day) to put down her book and jump into the game. The set is complete with a full ensemble of dancers, wonderful choreography, the rest of The Guild's cast and even a real elephant. They did a wonderful job of mimicking Bollywood style and still keep with their usual sense of humor, which shows up in everything they do. This comes in the middle of their season 4 storyline involving the quest to build the better guild hall, as well as Codex's usual dose of drama where gaming and real life collide. Check out their latest adventures on Bing.
Hulu getting ready for international viewers, starts by blocking them
Fresh off adding Disney as a content partner and part owner, Hulu is about to make an even bigger leap, signing up a few agreements for international programming from sources like Endemol and Digital Rights Group of the UK and Bollywood distributor Saavn. Financial Times learned that while these deals should first bring additional programming for U.S. viewers, it is "laying the groundwork" for a global launch in the top six to eight markets. Unfortunately for global viewers, word on the internets is that anonymous proxies like those so conveniently suggested in our Ask EHD for Canadian streaming options are now blocked, so until those deals are signed and the switch is flipped in your neck of the woods, no Hulu for you.
Cablevision launches Bollywood Hits On Demand
Rather than, you know, giving loyal customers a few extra high-def channels, Cablevision has decided to instead exhaust resources on pushing Bollywood Hits On Demand out to iO TV subscribers. Bollywood. Hits. On. Demand. Personally, we've no qualms with Bollywood flicks, but we can't help but scratch our heads on this one, particularly since it's an SD VOD service. Nevertheless, it still marks the company's very first international subscription video on demand service, and those interested will have to pony up $9.95 per month in order to indulge.[Via Multichannel]
Sony hires 13 PS2 game developers to increase sales in India
To give some perspective on the relative age of Sony's second console, think about this: if the PlayStation 2 were a human being, it would be a third-grader right about now, and would probably know more about long division than we do. While most eight-year-old consoles generally go the way of the Jaguar, Sony seems dedicated to the continued growth of their popular (though fairly aged) home console -- for example, in an attempt to extend their already impressive multinational reach, Sony recently hired 13 Indian game developers to create domestically-themed games and improve sales in India and the Middle East.Though nearly 3.3 million Indians already own PS2s, Sony is confident that creating games based on "Bollywood, mythology and culture" and featuring motion-sensing gameplay using the fairly neglected Eye Toy peripheral will further increase their dominance in the Indian market. Could these rupee-garnering efforts prolong the system's life until middle school, and the associated joys of puberty? Only time can tell.
Bollywood comes to Blu-ray via Om Shanti Om
We know, Bollywood already has a high-definition format of choice, but given that HD VMD isn't apt to catch on anytime soon, we'd say choosing Blu-ray as a backup is a fairly intelligent move. According to numerous reports and a product page on Amazon, Om Shanti Om will be making the leap to BD next week (January 22nd), and while absolutely nothing is known about special features, audio tracks, etc., it can be pre-ordered as we speak for just under $17. 'Course, it remains to be seen if the whole of Bollywood bolts in Blu's direction -- or if a substantial amount of viewers here in America even notice.[Via Blu-ray, thanks Bhargav N.]
Xbox Live India launches Nov. 5
The country of India obtains access to Xbox Live beginning November 5. A 12-month subscription to the service will cost 2200 rupees ($55 USD). 1600 MS Points (which is fake currency to begin with), normally $20 in the States, will cost 1070 rupees ($27). Indian XBLA will supposedly be tied into Asia, so if a game is available there, it should be available on the marketplace.Apparently a key difference between India's Xbox Live and others is the "educational content." According to those at the event held at the Shangri-la Hotel in New Delhi, Microsoft announced India will be the first country with learning aids for grades 1-12. We have no idea at this point what that means, but if they being offering XBLA Number Munchers or Oregon Trail in the States, that's an automatic 400 to 800 MS Points spent right there. And, of course, Bollywood productions will be available through the Xbox Marketplace.Read: Xbox Live, Games for Windows launches Nov. 5Read: Microsoft India launches Xbox live
SingStar Bollywood shuffles into Europe this Friday
Eurogamer reports that SingStar Bollywood will hit European store shelves this Friday. Lucky for some of you, the game features phonetic English lyrics so gamers don't have to learn Hindi in the next three days. If you've never been treated to an over-the-top Bollywood production, we have some toned-down examples after the break along with the song list for SingStar Bollywood.The term Bollywood typically refers to a part of Indian cinema best known for elaborate musical numbers involving massive choreography and catchy tunes. This is certainly another gem in the increasingly diverse SingStar pantheon. Now we wait for the announcement of a SingStar Swedish Folk edition ... actually, seriously now, a pure ABBA SingStar would be amazing.
Advergaming hits Indian movie industry
ZDNet is reporting on Bollywood3D, a new company set up to release promotional games for India's famously prolific film industry. Unlike movie-based games in the States, which count on a box office bump from the film's premiere, Bollywood3D games will come out ahead of the movie to create early buzz, including built-in contests for merchandise and premiere tickets.Bollywood's famous musicals won't be adapted to start -- early games will instead let you take control of big Bollywood action stars like Emran Hashmi and Salman Kahn. With budgets of $100,000 and and a development cycle of two months, the games aren't likely to be AAA blockbusters in their own right. But as a marketing promotion aimed at India's millions of computer owners, it might just work. Hey, if they can sell two million Burger King games, anything is possible.
VMD gets Bollywood pack-in titles for January '07 launch
Everyone's favorite third high definition disc format got a boost today as it announced deals with six Indian film distributors. When the first HD VMD player launches in January of next year, it will be available with a bundle of 10 high definition Bollywood movies for $299 through various Indian retailers. New Medium Enterprises has already secured deals for content in Germany and China, now with the addition of the booming Indian film market VMD hopes to provide high definition content at prices HD DVD and Blu-ray won't be able to match.
