Of original scores and live gigs, mobiles set to hum a new song

Downloading music and streaming videos on the Internet and mobile handsets may soon be passé. With the government allocating 3G spectrum, content providers are ready with new services.

Hungama Digital Media and Reliance Communications are all set to offer live shows on the Internet and mobile.

ArtistAloud.com, a Hungama Digital Media Entertainment company, has taken an initiative to distribute unpublished songs of independent artistes on the Internet. The music will be made available on mobiles, too.

The initiative launched in June, started with 35 artistes. Now, the number has now grown to 81 across 21 different genres. The company has named the live concerts on the Internet as ‘Webcerts’.

“Webcert is a concert concept where music lovers can listen and view live performances from within the comforts of their home, office or anywhere they have good Internet connectivity. There is no live audience at the venue of performance. It is strictly a live online concert and there are no charges for watching it,” said Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media.

The first webcert on ArtistAloud.com was by composer and performer Shibani Kashyap. Roy said more than 10,000 people had seen the webcert. “Webcerts are supported by sponsors and are free for online consumption. However, users will have to pay a fee for the original songs, which can also be bought as caller ring back tones (CRBTs) for mobile phones.”

Abhijeet, Sagarika and Roop Kumar Rathode are among a hosts of artists who have joined the platform.

Ashish Pherwani, associate director, Ernst&Young said , “They are creating stars by providing a platform to artistes and are also creating intellectual property (IP). If these artistes get popular, there will be an opportunity to take them to the live performance stage, which they can monetise”.

Recently Universal Music tied up with Reliance Communications to make its music catalogue available to RCOM customers and offer live performances. Universal Music will organise five shows – with four Indian artistes and an international artiste – that would be streamed live to RCOM subscribers for a price.

“RCOM and Universal Music will arrange exclusive Indian concerts with Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan and Mohit Chauhan, among others. The partners will also line up international concerts with contemporary pop singers,” said Rajat Kakar, managing director, Universal Music India.

“Live performances and on ground events are going to grow manifolds in the coming years. Corporate events and public performances will bring in some royalties for the music companies. However, how many of these live concerts are made available and consumed on the mobile platform will depend on the popularity of the artiste, the price at which it is available and most importantly the quality of streaming,” said Pherwani.