The music channel is also all set to strike a deal next week for the third album which will be released in the first quarter of this year. A total of six albums are proposed for the year.

MTV plans to get into merchandising of other products like apparel and caps by the second quarter. In December, the music channel created a licensing and merchandising division as it realised that it could develop into an important source of revenue for the company. Niren Hiro, director marketing, was given the additional responsibility of licensing and merchandising.

HMV and MTV will release MTV Jai Jai Shiv Shankar, a dance mix featuring the winners of the Coca-Cola Video Ga Ga contest held last year. The remix for most of the songs was done in London. The title song Jai Jai Shiv Shankar, however, is a remix based on the winning song from the Ga Gacontest. The album is based on popular classic Hindi film songs. MTV Loveline is the second album to be released, in collaboration with Polygram. A romantic album, the producers plan to ride on the back of the Valentine fever.

MTV, in a research conducted in late 1998, found dance music to be the most popular genre, followed by romantic ballads. ``With the launch in these two categories, we expect to achieve multi-lakh sales from each of the albums,'' said Hiro.

While MTV will promote the albums on the channel, the music companies will market them off-air. The promo spots will centre around MTV VJs who will provide information about the albums. The albums will be sold through 5,000 music retailers across the metros and mini-metros. Besides, there will be a multi-media campaign.

The focus, says Hiro, will be on below-the-line advertising. ``We will spend more on this form of advertising than we ever did before. The albums will hit the market just before the summer vacation.'' With MTV gaining inviewership and connecting strongly with the country's youth, Hiro expects the albums to do big business. ``There is the power of the MTV brand on the cover and good music on the cassettes. Our sales should soar,'' he said.

MTV got into album compilations in early 1997 with the launch of MTV Colonial Cousins Unplugged. So far, MTV has launched `MTV Smirnoff Mega Mix' with Polygram, `MTV Total Mix' with Sony Music and `MTV Mere Sapno Ki Rani' with HMV. While MTV Smirnoff Mega Mix was an extension of the MTV Smirnoff show, Mere Sapno Ki Rani was an extension of a show called Club MTV. The Smirnoff album recorded the highest sales of 240,000 units, while MTV Total Mix notched up sales of 60,000.