Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya on iPhone powered by DCI Mobile Studios

of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, A.R. Rahman’s first album after the Oscars, will be powered by DCI Mobile Studios (a division of Galatta.com).

Sony Music India’s foray into the Tamil movie industry (Kollywood) has created many landmarks and milestones with some of the most successful and prestigious projects. And in yet another pioneering initiative, Sony Music India announced the global launch and world premiere of A.R. Rahman’s most-anticipated and awaited soundtrack from Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa – meaning ‘Will you cross the skies for me?’ – and abbreviated to VTV. What takes public anticipation to new heights is the fact that this is the first Tamil album from A.R. Rahman after his double Academy Award win and just before the Grammy Awards – scheduled for February 10.

VTV stars Silambarasan (Simbhu) – touted as the next superstar in Kollywood – and beautiful Trisha Krishnan in the lead roles. The film is directed by Gautham Menon (whose previous Tamil film Vaaranam Aayiram was a critical, commercial and musical blockbuster with songs released by Sony Music).

At the sneak music preview of VTV held in London on 19th December 2009, the entire cast and crew (including A.R. Rahman, Gautham Menon, Simbhu, Trisha and all the singers) were present. About this music preview, Gautham Menon said, “London was a great experience. We had a live unplugged performance of all the songs by the singers who have sung in the album. The audience, mostly English, loved the music. Everybody felt it sounded very international, which was hardly surprising, considering it was music by A.R. Rahman. The intention was to reach and test the music on an international audience. We achieved more than that. We plan to do a road show with all the singers now. This was a first of it's kind show. Now the expectation about the film is tremendous and the pressure is on me now.”

The music of VTV will be released physically on CDs and cassettes across the world and via Amazon.com for online buyers. Digitally, VTV music will be available on iTunes, Nokia Store, and iPhone application from the first week of January.

This unique activity for VTV will be executed through an iPhone music application (app) which will allow users to stream and listen to the complete songs, download the songs, wallpapers and other movie-related information.

This initiative, a first-in-the-world for an iPhone application entirely based on movie OST by Sony Music, is the result of the joint efforts by Sony Music Entertainment India and DCI Mobile Studios, a leading Chennai-based software and mobile applications developer, a division of Galatta.com. The service will be available to all registered users of iPhone apps across the world. A user will be charged $1.99 for downloading the application, facilitating unlimited streaming of the songs from the album and $2.99 to download the whole album.

Galatta.com has also taken steps to restrict unauthorized sharing of the content through this unique application. A user who downloads the songs on his iPhone or iPod will not be able to transfer it to any other (meaning unauthorized) device.

Mr. Shridhar Subramaniam, Managing Director, Sony Music India, said, “Sony Music has always been at the forefront of redefining music marketing. This initiative, which is a first in India, will enable a savvy generation of smart phone users to access streamed audio feeds over an active data connection. Our efforts have always been to make the music reach its audience as, when, and how they want to enjoy it. We are quite certain that A.R. Rahman’s fans and lovers of his music will enjoy his genius through this application.”

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Girish Ramdas (President, Galatta.com) said, “At Galatta.com, we recognize that mobile applications are a very personal medium and should fulfill end-users’ desire to stream in personal choice of audio content wherever they are; the iPhone is an ideal vehicle for monetizing Sony’s content. This app will fulfill the dream of mobile subscribers for easy access to the highly-anticipated film’s songs and get to listen to the genius A.R. Rahman."

The movie will be released in the second week of February 2010.