Come December, and festival goers have a brand new reason to celebrate. Nikhil Chinapa in association with LIVE Viacom 18 is all set to launch a new EDM festival in Goa this December – Supersonic – a five-day-long dance party, heavy on its community aspect, one that’s super safe for women, and with some solid international and local talent.
All of that is now in the face of Sunburn, the Goa edition of which is also set to take place around the same time. Mr. Jaideep Singh, Sr. Vice President and Business Head – INS, Viacom18 Pvt. Ltd., tells EE what the audience can look forward to this December.
EE: We are really excited about the EDM festival. Can you tell us a bit about it?
Since the inception of Integrated Network Solutions, we have ventured into live events and successfully concluded properties. MTV VMAI, EMERGE (in association with VH1) and Comedy Central Chuckle Festival have been the first few initiatives of this division under Youth and English Cluster. ETV Kannada & Bangla Sangeet Samman marked the launch of Kids and Regional Cluster of LIVE Viacom18. Since EDM has been gaining immense popularity and has turned into the new favourite for today’s young millennials, it was a natural decision to create an EDM festival.
Hence, we roped in DJ Nikhil Chinapa as the festival director and have also collaborated with world’s leading electronic dance music festival organizers to launch a truly world-class dance music festival. Vh1 Supersonic will take place in North Goa from 26th to 30th December. The five day festival will offer music lovers an unparalleled, immersive experience coupled with great music across popular underground electronic music genres. We have been working tirelessly to put together a fabulous line up of artists who will draw lots of attention from the Indian audience.
Given Viacom18’s huge broadcast strength, we will leverage the popularity of the iconic music brand Vh1 and other youth & music brands in the network. With considerable knowledge of events across all platforms and in-depth understanding of the Indian dance music industry, the festival will definitely create an unforgettable experience on the sands of Goa.
EE: So Nikhil Chinapa, formerly with Sunburn, is now associated with you. What do you see him bringing to the table?
Nikhil has been with our network for a very long time, he is like family to the group and we share a fantastic relationship with him both personally & professionally. Not only has he developed the Electronic Dance Music scene in India, but has also become synonymous with it. Given his immense knowledge of EDM and deep understanding of the consumers’ needs, Nikhil was the ideal choice for being our festival director.
EE: How is this festival going to be differentiated from the rest of the electronic music festivals?
The aim of the festival is to restore the spirit of community and passion for music. It will target devoted music lovers by featuring a mix of Indian and international artists – popular and underground. The festival will have a strong local focus, creating a platform to nurture and promote some of India’s best DJs on the same stages as the international artists. Through, Supersonic we will completely focus on delivering a quality experience. With this festival, we will leave no stone unturned to provide a larger than life experience. Over and above everything else, we are also devising a strong plan for the security of women.
EE: What is the artist line-up? Any first timers visiting India?
We have a very energetic line up which will excite the audience. 60-70% of the artists will be international while 30% will be Indian artists. We have signed a mix of top international headliners plus newcomers. The idea here is to promote both established and new talent. We are in the process of finalizing the lineup which will be announced soon.
EE: Why Goa?
Goa has always been a confluence of cultures. The beautiful state is home to massive beaches, great food and hospitable people. Not only do the sandy beaches give enough space to accommodate large crowds, but also provide a relaxed vibe that will transport the crowd to stress free mindset.
EE: Who are your sponsors going to be?
Viacom18 network has a fantastic reach across various categories of clients that are willing to collaborate with us on our new initiatives. We will announce their names soon when we launch Supersonic formally.
EE: Has the sales of tickets begun? What is the price of tickets?
Not yet. Ticket sales would be announced at the official event launch. Keep your eyes peeled.
EE: How many people are you expecting?
Since it’s the first year of the festival our primary focus is to deliver quality experience hence we are not targeting huge crowds.
EE: What kind of revenue do you think it should be able to generate?
This year our only agenda is to concentrate on establishing the festival but we are confident that the subsequent years would generate great business.
