Radio Jocks contribute around 20-25 per cent to overall revenues

MUMBAI: Radio stations today are largely governed by listenership coupled with advertisements and sales garnering the profit and loss statement of the network across the country. While popular radio jocks are the star highlights, they contribute an average of 20-25 per cent to the overall revenues of the radio station while majority comes in from music.

Sameer Nigam's big challenge at Flipkart's Flyte

MUMBAI: Making its presence felt in the emerging digital market, e-commerce website Flipkart launched its digital music store Flyte in February 2012. Five months after its launch, the company has achieved its first milestone with around 600,000 downloads.

ArtistAloud adds 'New This Week' to its bouquet

MUMBAI: In its zest to provide innovative and user-friendly content, ArtistAloud has come up with yet another musical property titled ‘New This Week’.

Shankar Mahadevan: "People are hungry for new sounds, only the medium is weak"

MUMBAI: Renowned singer/composer Shankar Mahadevan believes that non-film music is the parallel industry to Bollywood and with digital medium booming, it has a bright future.

"It is high time people understand that there is an industry for non-film and niche music that is not related to bollywood and is being promoted, propagated and reaches out to a wider audience. People are hungry for new sounds, only the medium is weak but I think with digital growing there is a lot of scope and bright future for non-film music," he avers.

2011: Defining year for the music genre

MUMBAI: Year 2011 was special for the youth and music channels in more than one way. For starters, the genre grew with the advent of focused new players, and also came of age as channels clearly selected the model they want to follow.

If 2010 was the year of uncertainty for the genre, 2011 was the Buddha moment, when the players found the light, the path and, most importantly, the business model.

Music channels: A return to basics

MUMBAI: If 2010 was the year of uncertainty for the music channels, 2011 definitely is a return to basics. The music and youth TV channel genre, which saw major changes last year, now seems to be settling down a bit. While many new players have come in, most of them have upped their music quotient.

The space has got further cluttered with the launch of new players like UTV Stars, MTunes and Sony Mix. The severity of the competition can be gauged by the fact that seven channels have their shares between 10-15 per cent.

Yash Chopra, Ramesh Sippy, Mukesh Bhatt: 'This is the most anti-entertainment govt since independence'

It will be recalled that earlier this month, the Parliamentary Standing Committee, headed by Oscar Fernandes, tabled its report before Parliament. The extremely comprehensive 118-page report's  numerous recommendations are not binding upon  Parliament or Government, but it is being seen as a remarkable victory particularly for lyricists and composers. Film producers are extremely disturbed  that the Committee has accepted both amendments to the extremely contentious amendment in the Bill. Clause 6 - Section18 Assignment of Copyright.

RJs - chance ambassadors for radio?

MUMBAI: Mention the word Jeeturaaj to a Mumbaikar and you are likely to get the response, Mirchi?...

So inextricably are some jockeys linked to the brands they serve and so often do they develop a larger than life persona,  that the differentiating line often begins to blur. Not surprisingly, that's when the station makes judicious use of the RJ as brand to push a product or promote a service.

India's digital music demand set to grow

MUMBAI: With physical CD sales under continuing assault, digital music distribution is bringing in a major transformation in the Indian music industry 

Rewind '09 - Radio events that defined '09

MUMBAI: Some of these events that caused ripples in the radio industry in India last year, involved people, some were policy changes and some were just developments that took their time happening.

All in all, these were events that shaped the way radio last year and will mould the industry in 2010. Radioandmusic.com presents a quick recap, in no particular order -

1) Abraham Thomas bid adieu to Red FM