India, May 16 -- In a groundbreaking moment for Indian music, over 35 of the country's most renowned musicians have launched Goongoonalo - an artiste-owned platform. Founded by Javed Akhtar, Shankar Mahadevan, and technologist Sridhar Ranganathan, and led by CEO Sherley Singh, Goongoonalo promises to reshape the way music is created and experienced. Javed Akhtar called May 5, 2025, "a historic day," saying, "Goongoonalo offers artistes complete freedom - no producers, no committees. It's the first global platform where musicians, lyricists, and singers are shareholders. It will support emerging talent." Shankar said, "This is a stage built by the artistes, for the artistes - a dream platform where the future of music will be shaped by its creators." Sonu Nigam said, "In the '90s, we dreamed of doing something different. Goongoonalo makes that dream a reality and marks an important chapter in the history of music." Prasoon Joshi added, "We have often lost our original voice in commissioned work. Now, we can express ourselves freely, commissioning our own creations." Joining them is a stellar line-up, which includes Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan, Hariharan, Salim-Sulaiman, Shekhar Ravjiani, Vishal Dadlani, Amit Trivedi, Irshad Kamil, Papon, Sameer Anjaan, Raju Singh, Kaushiki Chakraborty, Vijayaprakash Ramasesha, Srinivasan Doraiswamy, Loy Mendonsa, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Anand-Milind, Aruna Sairam, Anupam Roy, Harshdeep Kaur, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Bickram Ghosh, Akriti Kakar, Shweta Mohan, Anusha Mani, Manan Shah, Akshay Hariharan, Rachel Singh, Siddharth Mahadevan, Soumil Shringarpure, and Joshua Singh. Lalit Pandit said, "We have longed for music's true freedom. Now, even unreleased songs can find a home." Shaan remarked, "This is a unique universe - ours. We welcome everyone with open arms. When something begins with good intentions, it leads to great outcomes." Sridhar Ranganathan emphasised, "Goongoonalo uses cloud-native architecture to connect millions of fans and creators across the globe in real-time. It's where tech meets emotion." Sherley Singh concluded, "Goongoonalo is a living cultural archive - where a grandmother in Chennai finds her favourite raga, and a teenager in Shillong collaborates with her idol." As the Goongoonalo app prepares for launch, the platform is already live at www.goongoonalo.com. Artistes and fans can register and become a part of this new musical movement - where the future of Indian music will be defined by those who create it. htc...