Even as the video streaming space is going through a big churn, its audio counterpart is also picking up steam in India. Now we have a social radio platform in our midst.
But many of you may wonder what is a social radio platform. Well, it is driven through user-generated content, and enables anyone to become a broadcaster by creating their own station. Listeners, on the other hand, can tune in at any time and get access to original music or choose from the list of on-boarded artists, start a podcast themselves, voice out their opinions, or just simply share their thoughts. It is all done on a single app.
One of the early movers into the segment in India is the ‘Eight’ network.
Eight is basically an open interactive social radio app primarily targeted towards audio artists like singers, storytellers, poets, and even virtual DJs. They can have a platform to showcase their voice and content. The app is built with interactive features such as chat options making the experience more enjoyable for both the creators and their fans.
‘Eight is YouTube for audio entertainment’
The Eight network app was launched three months ago, and, according to the company, last month it saw 1 million minutes being streamed with close to 500 new stations being launched organically. Users are streaming content across categories such as poetry, sports discussions, podcasts, talk-shows, storytelling etc. with horror shows as one of the most popular genres on the platform.
Eight hopes to have 1 million listeners by the second quarter of 2022.
Many of may perhaps wonder why do we need a social radio platform. Well, the Indian audio listenership has been growing steadily over the past few years, moving away from traditional radio to podcasts and on-demand OTT audio streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple podcasts, Gaana etc. There are close 250 million users for streaming audio apps segment.
But social radio platforms say the OTT audio platforms don’t allow for engagement between the artists/performers and the listeners. On the other hand, social audio platforms serve as a live streamer for audio creators and listeners, even while allowing for exchanges between the performers and listeners.
Eight Co-founder and CEO, Mohit Paliwal said: “While on-demand streaming was a step up from traditional radio, there was a need for a platform that allowed easy engagement between audio content creators and their audiences. We aspire to bridge that gap by building the ‘YouTube’ of audio entertainment through the Eight network.”
Eight launches a new contest
And to further engage with fresh and talented audio creators, the Eight network has launched a three-day audio reality show ‘Unmute’.
Billed as India’s first, mobile-only audio reality contest, ‘Unmute’ is designed to provide a stage for upcoming voice artists across categories such as storytelling, poetry and singing. The event gives an opportunity to the participants to win prizes worth Rs 1.5 lakhs. Unmute starts today and ends on February 6. You can check out the details of the contest here.
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