MxMIndia

Tag: Timbre Media

  • Launched Cummins PowerPods channel jointly with Timbre Media

    Cummins wraps up ’60 Years of Powering India’ digital campaign

    By Our Staff

     

    Cummins India, power solutions technology provider, announced the successful culmination of its integrated digital campaign ‘60 years of Powering India’, an ode to its six decades of successfully powering India’s growth story. The four-month long campaign featured 60 legacy stories capturing key company milestones, its contribution to India’s growth journey, and stakeholder stories and testimonials. The campaign aimed at demonstrating the positive impact that the company has created on its stakeholders, communities, and the planet.

     

    Conceptualized and executed by Cummins India in collaboration with Zensciences – a digital marketing agency, the social media campaign. As a part of the campaign, the company also launched – Cummins PowerPods – their first and exclusive podcast channel in collaboration with Timbre Media, to present the stories of organizational significance to internal and external stakeholders. The campaign had a unique hashtag, #CumminsIndiaAt60, and was culminated with a campaign video, Six Decades of Cummins India.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Abhilasha Shukla, Communications Leader, Cummins India said: “In 2022, Cummins India completed the 60-year milestone and we wanted to create a unique digital campaign to celebrate our compelling and distinguished legacy. We collaborated with our leadership team to conceptualize the idea of the ’60 Years of Powering India’ campaign to highlight the integral role Cummins has played in driving the India growth story over the past six decades. Zensciences and Timbre Media, proved to be invaluable agency partners in bringing the legacy stories to life and delivering an impactful and memorable campaign.”

     

    Rahul Koul, Co-founder and Partner, Zensciences added: “Working with Cummins India on this campaign has been an absolute delight for Zensciences. We wanted to create a campaign that was inspiring, visually stunning, and emotionally impactful. We mixed different creative formats to tell the stories and showcase the impact that Cummins has made in India over the past six decades. The response to the campaign has been overwhelming and we are grateful for the opportunity to have partnered with Cummins on this journey.”

     

  • Once FM phase III is rolled out, FM stations hope to witness more innovations along with differentiation in content. So, is there a scope for the two to co-exist or do traditional radio stations need to press the panic button?

    Rise of internet radio: What do traditional FM players think?

    By Robin Thomas

     

    The internet today has become the fastest growing medium in the country, and mobile has more or less become a necessity. So influential is the internet and mobile today that every medium is harping onto the digital bandwagon. The rise of internet and mobile has compelled even FM radio to spread their wings online. Radio Maska which plays 24×7 Hindi music claims to be India’s first Bollywood internet radio station, catering to Indian and NRI listeners.

     

    Besides, Timbre Media, a multi platform and multi genre radio company will soon be launching an internet radio station; VentureNet Partners, a Bengaluru based internet radio company will also launch Radiowalla, a premium model internet audio service that promises a variety of special interest internet radio channels. Realizing the potential of internet, even traditional FM radio stations have extended their reach online. Radio Mirchi for instance launched two internet radio stations- Meethi Mirchi, (plays contemporary melodies) and Purani Jeans (plays Hindi retro). Nearly 3.5 years ago, Radio City launched its music portal, PlanetRadiocity.com and only recently the music portal announced the launch of its new web radio genre, IndiPop Radio.

     

    Rachna Kanwar

    Rachna Kanwar – VP and Business Head, Digital Media and New Business, Radio City was of the view that the rise in internet radio stations is a reflection of people’s media consumption and the rising internet penetration in India and around the world. “More and more people are consuming music on the internet and therefore it is but natural that the potential has been tapped by players. While music has always been available illegally, today the whole process is getting legalized. Even music companies are realizing the potential of the digital platform and its demand and looking at the platform differently. This is the future of consumption and serious players realize they cannot ignore the phenomenon.”

     

    Prashant Panday

    For those complaining about lack of differentiation in FM radio, internet radio may have come as a huge relief as it promises variety in both music and non-music content. However, once FM phase III is rolled out, FM stations hope to witness more innovations along with differentiation in content. So, is there a scope for the two to co-exist or do traditional radio stations need to press the panic button? According to Prashant Panday, CEO Radio Mirchi, “No one needs to be worried about anything if they can adjust to the new realities. If an FM broadcaster prefers to remain only an FM broadcaster, it will be in trouble. But if it can seamlessly migrate to the internet platform, it will be able to maximize the combination of the two formats. So no….there is no need to worry.”

     

    Rabe T Iyer

    Rabe T Iyer, Business Head, BIG FM was of the opinion that online radio stations traditional FM stations need not worry about online radio and although there are limitations, online radio is an extension of traditional radio stations.

     

    Internationally, online radio stations augment terrestrial radio listening rather than substitute it. It’s augmented by users logging in from work and homes via the net and accessing their favourite stations. Yes, Online music with its niche music genre will fill the gap which traditional radio is unable to experiment with due to commercial consideration however traditional FM stations will not worry about growth of online radio.”

     

    In an earlier interaction with MxMIndia, M Sebastian, Co- founder and CEO, Timbre Media had said, “There is sufficient space for everyone to co-exist and grow. Rather than worrying, we need to identify areas of partnerships that lead to mutual benefit and faster growth and work towards realizing the full potential of the audio medium.”

     

    The listeners of internet radio stations are said to be those that are dissatisfied with the traditional FM radio stations however the market for internet radio is still small and currently caters to only specific or niche audience. Ashish Pherwani, Associate Director, Advisory Services, Ernst & Young believes that terrestrial FM radio stations will not have to worry about their internet radio counterparts at least for the next five years. He is also of the view that as a business there are many similarities as both internet radio and traditional FM radio stations are in the business of disseminating music.

     

    Speaking about the advantages and disadvantages of the internet radio and traditional radio stations, Mr Pherwani said, “As far as listening to radio is concerned, FM radio stations is absolutely free and this is where traditional radio has an upper hand over the internet radio. The disadvantage however is the fact that FM radio licenses are very expensive as a result many companies undergoing loses.”

     

    Unlike the traditional radio stations which do not charge listeners for listening to radio and is mainly advertising led, the business model of most internet radio stations are either subscription or advertising led or both depending on their radio channels. Like their traditional radio counterparts, internet radio stations too have to pay music royalty costs i.e. a minimum royalty and revenue sharing model. When asked to share his views on internet radio and the benefits it may have on the music companies, Rakesh Nigam, CEO, IPRS (The Indian Performing Right Society Limited) said, “Digital music in India is only picking up, with 3G and 4G services entering the market, internet radio stations will only grow. As a result the sale of music CD’s will only further decline as they will be heard online rather than be purchased. Thus there is potential for internet radio and as a result it will be a win-win situation for all including the music companies.”

     

    Although internet radio has been around for a while, it is still at a nascent stage in India and perhaps for many it is still a new format of radio station hence it needs to first spread awareness about its existence and features. Traditional FM players on the other hand have established themselves in the market and realizing the potential of the internet some of them have already taken their station online. Most of these FM players therefore find no reason to worry about the rising number of internet radio stations. They are of the opinion that differentiation and innovation in FM radio will further increase with phase III rollout and besides it will further increase the reach of traditional FM radio which the internet radio stations may find hard to match, at least initially.

     

  • Timbre Media was formed in 2010 by the erstwhile employees of WorldSpace India, to continue its radio programming legacy. Co-founder and CEO M Sebastian speaks to MxMIndia about Timbre's plans.

    Continuing the WorldSpace legacy @ Timbre

    By A Correspondent

     

    The year 2012 has already begun with a series of announcements of radio on the web and other digital platforms. PlanetRadiocity.com for instance has launched a new genre – IndiPop Radio on their Web Radio station in March, 2012, and a Bengaluru based internet radio company- Venturenet Partners will be launching a premium model internet audio service- Radiowalla in April 2012. Formed in 2010 by former employees of WorldSpace India, Timbre Media is also slated to announce its internet radio station – Timbre Radio. All these players not only aim to provide innovative but, differentiated content and world class radio programming to their listeners, all through the power of audio.

     

    Besides the internet, Timbre Media plans to exploit the potential of the audio medium across digital platforms including mobile and DTH Television. On the mobile front, the Bengaluru based Timbre Media has already aligned with Vodafone India to offer listeners multiple music genre radio stations across the country. Listeners will have to pay Rs. 30 per month for 300 minutes of free usage. However this mobile radio service is not available in Andra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Kolkata. Saregama India Pvt Ltd. which has acquired 10 per cent stake in Timbre Media provides the company (Timbre Media) with access to their music database.

     

    Timbre Media offers customised radio content for multiple broadcast platforms. It has four studios in Bengaluru and two studios in Mumbai among other studios in different parts of the country. In conversation with MxMIndia, M Sebastian, Co- founder and CEO, Timbre Media spoke about business model of Timbre Media, his break-even plan, the trends to watch out for, on traditional FM radio and much more.

     

    Q: Can you share with us how Timbre Media was formed? And what was the thought process behind the launch?

    Timbre Media was formed in 2010 by the erstwhile employees of WorldSpace India, to continue the legacy of world class radio programming that we provided through WorldSpace to our listeners.

     

    Q: What is the team size? Timbre Media is currently headquartered in Bangalore… Will you be setting up offices in other parts of the country too? When?

    We are a team of around 80 people, spread across different Indian cities.

     

    Q: Timbre Media specializes in programming radio contents for corporate entities, FM stations etc… Can you throw some light on the USP of Timbre Media? Also are you in talks with any FM station for radio content?

    Timbre Media has the unique advantage of a talent pool that introduced subscription based radio service in India and popularized the concept of genre based radio programming in our country. Our content is different, rich and compelling. We have learnt a lot about the expectations and aspirations of our target customers in the last 10 years of our association with WorldSpace Satellite Radio and its elite customers who valued quality and variety.

    We are in discussions with potential customers in every vertical that we are operating in.

     

    Q: What is the business model of Timbre Media? Is it advertising-led or a subscription model?

    Our business model is based on our philosophy that is to provide customized content that is different, rich and compelling and monetize the same in the best possible manner. It could be advertisement- or subscription-based depending on the vertical and the ecosystem we are operating in.

     

    Q: How many channels are in the offing? Which genres will you be offering? Will news also be part of it?

    We can’t say at this moment how many and what types of channels we will be offering. As I said, it is a function of the vertical and the prevailing ecosystem. We are focusing on providing customized content solutions to various customers and it could vary from one to the other. We are not averse to a particular type of programming or platform.

     

    Q: When are these channels scheduled to launch? Will it be only through mobile or will one be able to access them on the internet and DTH as well?

    We are not averse to any programming or platform. We are interested in utilizing our experience and expertise to meet the aspirations of the end user by using every available opportunity and monetizing the same to ensure the growth of Timbre Media.

     

    Q: Whom do you consider as competition?

    As such I do not think there is anyone who has the same experience and expertise that we have, and provide the same products and services that we offer.

     

    Q: How has 2012 welcomed Timbre Media? What are your growth plans?

    We have made considerable progress in the last two years. Thank God and the committed and passionate team that Timbre have, we have done extremely well compared to most of the start-up enterprises. We want to be a unique media enterprise that touches every customer who values quality audio content through all possible platforms and devices in the next 5 years.

     

    Q: Any specific trends you see in the Indian radio industry, particularly in the internet and mobile space?

    Radio industry is growing, and listeners are appreciating quality content for which they are willing to pay. The technology and platforms are enhancing the ecosystem every day and enabling the consumer to get what he wants, in the way he wants at the time he wants.

     

    Q: Also, should traditional radio begin to worry with your entry?

    There is sufficient space for everyone to co-exist and grow. Rather than worrying, we need to identify areas of partnerships that lead to mutual benefit and faster growth and work towards realizing the full potential of the audio medium.