New music channel targets Asian indie acts

Fans of Asian indie music will soon be able to catch their favorite artists on their computers, mobile phones or personal media players (PMP).

In a statement issued Thursday, Malaysian-based Music Kampany announced that it has teamed up with digital entertainment content provider Wildwave to launch a multi-platform TV channel.

Called Independent Asian Music TV (or i-amtv), the channel will stream music and video clips of independent Asian artists across a range of platforms, including the Internet and third-generation (3G) cellular networks.

Wildwave CEO Stephen McCormack revealed that Music Kampany was selected as a partner because of its "connections across China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and Korea". McCormack added that Malaysia was picked to host the channel because of its strategic location within Asia-Pacific.

Both companies stated that i-amtv will be targeted at the young, digitally-savvy music audience both within and beyond Asia, and will offer musical genres currently not available on MTV or other television channels.

i-amtv will run both as a video-on-demand service and as a broadcast channel, according to Music Kampany. The company also plans to provide a range of real-tones, audio track downloads and wallpapers to compliment the service. No pricing details were available.

According to Genervie Kam, CEO of Music Kampany, Asian indie artists who have already signed on for the channel include feature acts such as So What from Hong Kong, IGO & Twisted Machine from China, Pop Shuvit & Nao from Malaysia, Firebrands from Singapore, and Suck Stuff from Korea.

"We expect to add new acts every month," Kam said in a statement.

The partners revealed that they are currently in discussions with network and mobile operators to take the i-amtv channel to international territories, including North America and United Kingdom, as well as other markets within Asia.