The growing penetration of smartphones is fuelling the growth of a variety of data-based services and applications. On Monday, an Internet-based Telugu radio service ‘Radio Josh’ and its Android mobile app were launched by actress Tapsee and noted music director Mani Sarma.
The Internet radio essentially will function like any other FM radio station except that, the content will be available via the Internet for PC and mobile platforms.
“Internet radio helps us reach out to a wider audience. Telugu-speaking public from US, UK, UAE and even from Australia call us regularly. Smartphones and Internet usage is on the rise in Hyderabad and we are sure that our content will work,” feels CEO, Radio Josh, Agniputhra Varma.
While the concept is young in India, Internet radio is widely accepted in Western countries due to mature bandwidth and mobile Internet speeds. In fact, Pandora Internet radio is one such service that has attracted millions of subscribers in US, Australia and New Zealand.
For online streaming, a minimum speed of 128 kbps is needed, which is a challenge in India. “To save on bandwidth, online radio stations usually stream content at 56 or 64 kbps resulting in low quality. We are making sure that we provide content at 128 kbps,” Mr. Varma points out. The FM radio stations pay royalty to music companies for airing music, but there are no regulations on royalty for streaming content in India. Internet radio station that stream music in US have to take licences from American Society of Composers, Authors and Publisher (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI).
“We have ASCAP and BMI licenses. We are also open to providing royalty to Indian music companies in the near future,” he adds.
