MxMIndia

Tag: piracy

  • Spuul.com aims to combat online piracy by acquiring newer movies immediately after theatrical release and offer them to consumers in good quality and at a relevant price

    Spuul’s 1-stop entertainment to beat piracy

    By A Correspondent

     

    Spuul.com was founded by Sudesh Iyer who is the Founder of Sony Entertainment Television and S Mohan, the Founder of Accellion, buUuk and a number of other technology and venture companies. Spuul.com was launched in 2010 and aims to combat online piracy by trying to acquire newer movies immediately after their theatrical release and offer them to consumers in good quality and at a relevant price. Spuul.com, which aims to launch newer genres of Indian content too, wants to be a one stop entertainment destination for Indian content in the long run.

     

    Spuul.com is an advertising supported subscription service that provides on-demand access to the best of Bollywood movies and television programmes via the web and mobile devices. If the year 2011 was all about focusing on technology and content acquisition, the year 2012 will see the company increasingly focus on building up its content. Only recently this year, Spuul.com had launched the iOS app i.e. the apps for iPhone and iPad etc, thus making it easier for the users across the globe to watch Indian contents online whether it is Hindi Cinema, television shows or even regional contents.

     

    Spuul.com offers three levels of content to its consumers, ‘Freemium content’ which includes access to a broad range of free movies. ‘Specials’ which are pay per view movies, available at a certain price (pay per movie for 72 hours of unlimited views) and premium subscription which provides consumers access to the very best of Bollywood for a month. Spuul.com is said to be receiving good traction from India, and particularly from other parts of the world namely, the US, UK and even Middle East wherein users are increasingly visiting Spuul.com and consuming Indian contents online.

     

    Prakash Ramchandani

    According to Prakash Ramchandani, South-Asia and India Head, Spuul, “We are in the evolution phase and we want to grow and set a benchmark in the industry. Content consumption is getting more fragmented today. We see a trend in India as well as internationally that there is no dedicated service which is legal, purely for Indian content. So we are targeting just the Indian segment, which includes the Hindi cinema as well as television programmes as well as regional content. Thus we will be across multiple content genres, pan India for consumers across the world. We want to be ready for India when India is ready for it.”

     

    Spuul.com which is said to have pre-roll ads that does not interfere or disrupt the consumers viewing experience, also aims to combat piracy and make it a better monetization model for the producer and the content provider. “Our entire focus is to combat piracy and to provide better monetization model for the producer and content provider. If we can get the movie as soon as possible post theatrical release and give it to the consumer on the go, it is better than somebody giving it away for free. Our focus is also providing good content and customer experience. In fact we had our first subscriber within one hour of launch, this shows that there are consumers and that they are ready to subscribe or buy online if they are given different content, at the right price and with a good customer experience, they will buy it” added Mr Ramchandani.

     

    In the long run Spuul.com wants to be a one stop entertainment destination for Indian content wherein its breath of content would include all types of genres as long as it is premium focused.  Currently, Spuul.com has a total of 15 employees in its Singapore office, it has also has an office in Mumbai and aims to open more offices across the globe in the near future. Speaking on the future of online video streaming in India, Mr Ramchandani was of the view that smart phone and tablets will drive the online video consumption as the growth of smart phones will be much faster in the near future than what it was in the last six years. “Online video streaming is exploding in India and globally and this is the best time for the second screen i.e. mobile” said Mr Ramchandani.

     

  • This online music store will allow users to download music in the form of individual songs or entire albums.

    Flipkart launches Flyte for music

    By A Correspondent

     

    Flipkart.com has launched Flyte, its digital music store which marks the e-commerce player’s foray into the emerging digital content market. This store will allow users to download music in the form of individual songs or entire albums from a collection that is backed by leading Indian and international music companies.

     

    Flyte promises the Indian consumers:

    • Country’s most comprehensive online music collection of over a million tracks from 150,000 unique albums.

     

    • Mp3-format music downloads that can be played back on any digital media device (mobile phones, PCs, tablets, car stereos and others).

     

    • CD-quality music (320 kbps) available for 99 per cent of the music catalog – a first inIndia.

     

    • “DRM-free” music which means that users can freely transfer their music from one device to another very easily

     

    • Downloading the same file 3 more times after the initial download – at no extra cost, to make it even more convenient for users to sync their entire Flyte music library across their multiple digital devices

     

    • Single songs prices starting at Rs6 and albums start at as little as Rs25.

     

    • All standard payment options such as credit / debit card, internet banking, gift vouchers and the Flipkart Wallet will be available for purchases made on Flyte.

     

    Speaking about the launch of Flyte, co-founder and CEO, Flipkart, Sachin Bansal said: “We had maintained that making digital content available was one of our focus areas and this launch marks our first step in that direction. An online music store made sense, given the wide appeal this category enjoys in the country. Needless to say, all the features that delight Flipkart customers – selection, convenience and customer service will also be intrinsic to Flyte.”

     

    Sameer Nigam, VP, Digital at Flipkart added: “With Flyte, consumers inIndiawill now be able to download a wide range of music legally, and at an extremely reasonable price. We hope that such a move will help curb piracy and go a long way in supporting original music and its creators. With music available across 55 languages and 700 genres and sub-genres – this is a service that should appeal to all age groups and music lovers”.

     

    Till date there have been few, if any, platforms available in the country for legal music downloads and this has contributed to rampant piracy. With Flyte, legal music will become available and affordable to everyone inIndiawith Internet access – at the click of a button.

     

    Flipkart.com,India’s largest e-commerce player for physical goods, started with books in 2007 and entered the consumer electronics category with the launch of mobiles in Sep 2010. Since then it has grown rapidly with the introduction of innovative features like COD, 30 day replacement guarantee and its own delivery network. Today the portfolio ranges across 11 categories. The site ranks among top 30 in the country (as per Alexa rankings) and gets 12 million+ visits every month.

     

  • infrastructure, piracy, and a fragmented industry are some of the challenges facing content owners in the digital space, says Jai Maroo

    The Anchor: 5 Challenges for film & entertainment industry in the digital space

    1. Lack of Infrastructure:

    One of the major challenges in digital space is lack of infrastructure and poor internet connectivity. The problem of bandwidth has been there for some time now. We need better streaming solutions and internet penetration inIndia. With 3G, and now 4G, coming on the scene, though the initial rollout has been slow, all plans are geared for boosting rollout and hence consumption of entertainment on digital platforms is expected to get a boost.

     

    2. Fragmentation in the Industry:

    We have a fragmented industry in terms of sheer number of platforms and business models. In present scenario, there is no clear leader except a handful of them who are making profit. But with more investors in the space, we are seeing both, better quality platforms and more sustainable rollouts, which are further fuelling the consumers’ digital consumption habit.

     

    3. Menace of Piracy:

    Piracy is another menace that the industry has been fighting against. Some of the players in digital space, like YouTube for example, have been taking some strong measures to ensure that the legitimate owner of the content gets fair share of the revenue. Additionally, content owners are increasingly partnering with platforms and finding win-win partnership models and working together to build the consumers’ habit of legal content consumption.

     

    4. Technological Challenge:

    Content owner face a lot of challenges to digitize and re-purpose the content. Technologies are getting redundant at a faster pace. It is a challenge for the content owners to cope up with the fast-growing technology and avail their content in compatible format for a particular platform. However, players are emerging with the scale to be able to handle this fragmented consumption and build better and more sustainable revenue streams, and bring all the efficiencies of scale. This also gives opportunities to bring in innovation in the presentation of the product.

     

    5. Need for better equipments

    Another hindrance is slow adoption of newer and better equipment/ end user device to access video content. But, the variety of gadgets available in the market at reasonable price points and loaded features are expected to address the problem.

     

    Jai Maroo is Director, Shemaroo Entertainment

     

  • Nokia Music Connects: Piracy across the globe will fall, says Sandip Biswas.

    New music world under the scanner at Nokia seminar

    By A Correspondent

     

    The global digital music industry is growing significantly; Piracy across the globe will fall. The next few years will be a challenge for the music retailers. CDs today are slowly being replaced by digital format. The whole environment is changing with digital media. A lot of our revenues come from television stations or background music. These were some of the points raised at the day two of Nokia Music Connects event held in Mumbai on November 17, 2011. Nokia was the title sponsor of the event.

    Among the many sessions on day two of the Nokia Music Connects, one of them was ‘Digital Media, Global Landscape and the Future Ahead’. It was presented by Sandip Biswas, Director- TMT Practice, Deloitte. He spoke about the growth of physical format of music despite the enormous growth of the digital format. “Most of the assets are going digital. I believe that digital music will surpass the physical music format. However the physical format of music will also continue to grow and radio, television will contribute more.”

    One of the points this session raised was whether piracy is a legal or economic problem. He also pointed out that since the year 2008 piracy did not grow but, remained stable. Mr Biswas observed that the next few years will be a challenge for the music retailers and with the growth of digital format, CD prices will rise globally.

    The other sessions that followed ‘Digital Media, Global Landscape and the Future Ahead’ were, ‘Music Publishing- Soon a reality in India?’ This session discussed what the passing of the copyright act mean for the music industry and steps can be taken to foster the healthy development of the publishing industry in India.

    The session was moderated by Vijay Lazarus, President, IMI / PPL; the panelists were Achille Forler, Managing Director, Deep Emotions, Peter Jenner, Discoverer of Pink Floyd, subsequent Manager of many, Advisor to WIPO; Brandon Bakshi, Executive Director – Europe &Asia, BMI; Myles Keller Membership Development Director,PRS for Music; Rakesh Nigam, CEO, IPRS; and S L Saha, Managing Director, The Indian Record Mfg. Co. Ltd.

    The next session was Internet/Mobile radio and streaming services. One of the points this session discussed was revenue models for these players and the opportunities in store for the music labels and artistes with these new platforms?

    This session was moderated by Ted Cohen, Managing Partner, TAGStrategic; The panelists were Prashant Bahadur, Vice President & General Manager, The Orchard; T Suresh, Managing Director, EMI Music India; Raju Singh, Music Composer; Shehzad Azad, Head- Business Develeopment &Alliances, Spice Digital; Siddhartha Roy, COO – Consumer Business & Allied Services, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.; Jai Maroo, Director, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. and Pradeep Rao, Head – VAS,Aircel.

    The ‘Music Television, Reality Shows- The opportunities’ session discussed, music on television with new channels launching in HD running back to back music and its impact on music business and consumption. Reality shows such as Sa Re Ga Ma, Indian Idol, X-Factor have helped unearth talent. What has happened to them? Have they managed to make careers for themselves? How has the journey been? What sustains these shows? Why do broadcasters persist with them?

    This session was moderated by Anil Wanvari, Founder CEO, Indiantelevision.com Group. The panelists were Neeraj Vyas, Executive Vice President & Business Head, SONYMAX & SONYMIX; Aditya Swamy Senior Vice-President, MTV; Arvind Krishnan, Director – Marketing, Bacardi; Meiyang Chang, Former Indian Idol Finalist; Anushka Manchanda (Singer); Gitanjali Sriram, Founding Partner, Naked Communications.

    In the session ‘Of Live, And Independent Artistes’ discussed the emergence of independent festivals spurring a huge amount of opportunities for independent artistes and what it means for the music business? It was moderated by Brian Tellis, Chairman, Fountainhead Promotions & Events Pvt. Ltd. The panelists were  FarhadWadia, CEO, E18; Venkat Vardhan, Founder, DNANetworks; Joji George, CEO, Percept Sports & Entertainment; Sabbas Joseph, Founder Director, Wizcraft; Devraj Sanyal, Managing Director, Universal Music Group and Jayesh Veralkar, Label Head – Day 1, Sony Music Entertainment.

    The last session of day two was on ‘Artiste Management’. It discussed whether artiste management is becoming a profession like it is in more developed music markets? What role do they play with musicians in India? And how is it evolving keeping in mind the evolving music scene and the needs of the artiste today?

    This session was moderated by Brian Tellis, Chairman, Fountainhead Promotions & Events Pvt. Ltd. The panelists were Pakul Chaturvedi, Chief – Asia Pacific, Promo Sapiens; Robert Horsfall, Lawyer / Business Manager, SoundAdvice; Shaan (Singer); Jordan Berliant, Linkin Park’s Manager; Mark Wood, Imogen Heap’s Manager and John McLellan, Partner, Haldanes.