Not another music app, you may say. We’ve already got Saavn, Gaana and Wynk and so many more. So what sets BookMyShow’s Jukebox, the latest entrant in the mobile-listening segment, apart from its peers? For starters, it comes as a bonus to the company’s popular ticketing feature. Then, there’s its complementary nature to the other sections on BookMyShow. Aditya Kuber, Associate Vice President — Music, BookMyShow, shares some insights.
What made you come up with an exclusive music add-on to the ticketing platform?
It’s to cater to all kinds of entertainment. The audio feature came from the lessons that we’ve learnt over 18 years, knowing our users — what they like and don’t like. We wanted to come up with an involved way of consuming music.
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The ‘talk’ feature in Jukebox has been called one of its USPs. What’s that all about?
The talk feature is what one usually recognises as a podcast. We’re trying to go one step ahead in creating content across various genres and languages (60 shows in languages including Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, Oriya), from comedy, kids and entertainment to business, news, even horror. This content promises to increase the time that the user spends within the app, gets them engaged and ensures a newness to the entire setup.
Do you see Jukebox also developing as a branding solution for movies?
Absolutely. Take for instance, a single from Secret Superstar , which revealed to us data on who’s interested in that movie. As BookMyShow has a set user base and a dedicated set of listeners on Jukebox already, it can be an optimum tool to generate curiosity ahead of a movie release.
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Will this feature extend to events too?
Even when a concert is about to happen, Jukebox will help a user know the kind of music they can expect from the event. Once they’ve bought passes for a concert, we get users to glimpse through a set playlist. As a fan, one could go prepared for a concert.
Your strategy for tapping into a market where entrenched players enjoy a large user base?
Jukebox is available free of cost; there are options to stream and download content. A team of experts like Nikhil Chinapa, Rohit Barker and Brian Tellis have worked on packaging the music database to ensure quality and ring in the wow factor with the compilations. BookMyShow already has a large user base and we’re expected to match up to the current market players almost instantaneously.
How do you attract users who primarily use BookMyShow’s ticketing feature towards Jukebox?
Users coming to BookMyShow are satiating their entertainment needs through the ticketing service (concerts, plays, movies) that we offer now. Not every event is available in every city at the same time. In some cases, it’s not available at all. This is also to fulfil the needs of those users who’re looking for options within their interest area. For us, this doesn’t mean one service, but ensuring holistic entertainment. After a user books a movie ticket, we give them suggestions on what they could be interested in on Jukebox. Once you start using it more, you realise the personalised features you get too.
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What’s the advantage that a regular BookMyShow user is bound to have with Jukebox?
Jukebox was introduced as a credit-based system a few months ago, that users could use to download music. There’s a certain criteria to BookMyShow users. If they’re a superstar, they get twice the credits in comparison to another user. We ensure there are timely surprises for a regular user.
Do you see a section of users who’ll come to the app only for its music?
There are users already who come only for the music over the ticketing feature. Surprisingly, the users have been from places like Warangal, Guntur and Vijayawada, which haven’t been one of our biggest markets. For them, we see the music feature as an entry point that introduces users to other sections on the app.
What’s next for Jukebox?
We’re already talking to artistes and are looking to exposing users to new talent. We are collaborating with the likes of Universal, Saregama and Warner Bros — you’d see more on that side in the next few months. With regard to online radio or other features, it finally boils down to how you can enhance a user’s experience. Many are offering great content in a known space; we’re trying to go beyond that.
