In a move to further democratize music distribution and promotion for independent artists, JioSaavn’s in-house label Artist Originals is launching AO Labs.

AO Labs is designed to support talented artists who are not in a position to, or choose not to, work with record labels. AO Labs is a great alternative for underserviced talent.

Creators, musicians and artists can now submit demos directly to the labels A&R team with AO Labs. The A&R team selecting the artists come for a unique background being both NY and Mumbai based. The initiative seeks to enable artists in the early stages of their careers — genre and language agnostic — to distribute directly, enabling them to take control of their own careers whilst building a fanbase and promoting their records.

Selected tracks will receive upfront payment, marketing support, digital tools, data through the streaming service’s dashboard – Artist Insights and access to Artist Original’s global distribution channels through The Orchard. Artists will have the option to utilize the platform’s other creative services for an additional fee.

Speaking about AO Labs, Hiba Irshad, Director of A&R said, “We wanted to create a space where new independent artists are equipped with the tools to succeed long term in the music space. Our aim with AO Labs is to empower artists, particularly those who are just beginning their journey as career musicians by offering our global distribution, marketing services to help to craft a blueprint for their records. AO Labs is a new initiative for emerging talent in the beginning days of their career.”

Through the week, AO Labs will release five tracks including Punjabi hip-hop & blues fusion song “Kinu Mai Sunaava” by 25-year old artist Burrah (Jasdeep Singh) and urban pop track “Anomaly” from TRISHES, a project by Trinidadian-American Trish Hosein.

The accelerator programme will also see releases from singer-songwriters Abhilash Gupta with Kannada pop-ballad “Andaju Meerida” and Hindi pop tracks “Yeh Judaai” by Arjun Tikadar and Siddhant Kochar’s “Main Hoon Parinda”.

AO Labs artists will be chosen by direct referral or an online demo submission email, with music and tracks being selected on the basis of quality, potential, and readiness for release. The team has started to work with emerging artists. Applications are currently open.

AO Labs September 2020 releases:

The first five tracks, that will be released over the course of the week include a mix of genres and moods

“Kinu Mai Sunaava” by Burrah (Jasdeep Singh) ft. Anubhav Chhabra is a Punjabi fusion of Hip-hop & Blues which tells a story of an artist who pens down his pent up frustrations, unresolved feelings and unsaid words long after a break up. Burrah is also known for his 2017 track Dilli De Sardarboys which was the Punjabi version of The Weeknd’s Starboy

“Anomaly” is an urban pop track by Trinidadian-American TRISHES, who was named one of Music Connection Magazine’s Hot 100 Unsigned Live Artists. In the song TRISHES uses her signature vocal looping style and philosophical lyricism to express the cosmic and often unexpected role that each experience plays in our lives

“Andaaju Meerida” by Abhilash Gupta is a Kannada soft pop ballad which expresses the yearning desire of being able to tell someone you love them. The singer-songwriter, music director performs this romantic track that highlights the overwhelming feeling that is a part of being engulfed in love

“Yeh Judaai” by Arjun Tikadar is a Hindi romantic song about longing which is especially relatable right now with these challenging times. Arjun’s music is influenced by Hindustani Classical music along with guitar legends like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He intends to evoke feelings amongst his audience with his music. Yeh Judaai is a celebration of the toils of separation.

Siddhant Kochar’s “Main Hoon Parinda” is a song about fighting to achieve one’s dreams and overcoming obstacles along the way. Siddhant is a singer-songwriter, performer and a music composer-producer from Maharashtra. His stage name PARINDA, is a showcase of his belief that there are no limits to flying high