Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Apr 01, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Apr 01, 2006 |
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Internet Variety - Music & Dance Legalised music downloads made easy Preethi J.
Bangalore , March 31 Surge in download of legal music is expected this year, with rise in broadband connectivity. The country reported a 57 per cent increase in broadband uptake in the third quarter of 2005 alone (totalling 623,000 lines). Soundbuzz, an online music retailer, is in the process of evolving a billing system with Internet service providers to make legalised music track downloads attractive to youngsters and the credit-card shy. "The convenience of a monthly bill for paid music downloads over the home Net connection can be availed," he said. It has partnered with VSNL and Bharti and trials are on.
It's legal
The stress is on the word legal. "Online music downloads have had a chequered history," admits Mr Sudhanshu Sarronwala, CEO, Soundbuzz Pte, an online music retailer. "But it was due to the non-availability of legit services," he claims.
Apple impact
With the entry of Apple Computers' iTunes, the scene changed and now people prefer to buy music if given a choice, he said. iTunes is an online music store that breathed new life into the music industry, which suffered losses due to rampant piracy. Now, with digital rights management , firms such as Soundbuzz and Apple Computers have begun to cater to the demand. The lack of broadband infrastructure has been a boon to the local music industry, said Mr Sarronwala. Illegal music activity in India is limited when compared to other Asian countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong, he said. According to him, the US has a "highly evolved" pirated environment, with over 100 million song downloads a year.
Willing to pay
Pricing, which the music industry claims is the reason behind piracy, is apparently not the real issue. "People are willing to pay for quality music. We have seen this at work in the mobile industry - ringtones are costlier than online music downloads!" informs Mr Sarronwala. Soundbuzz's online music store sells English, Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil songs for Rs 10-20, and albums for Rs 199. Five lakh tracks, ranging from Incubus to Ilayaraja, are available in its database at Singapore. The company obtains licences for content distribution from record conglomerates and has 40-50 distribution channels across the world.
Growing market
Soundbuzz shares common ground with iTunes in Australia. The legal song download market in Australia doubled with the entry of iTunes, noted Mr Sarronwala. Soundbuzz entered the continent soon after. Mr Sarronwala said the portals were not in competition but were sharing the pie. "The market is still too young for competition. It is growing and we are happy to share it," he said. Soundbuzz has a presence in India, with an office in Mumbai, while Apple Computers has not yet seen fit to launch iTunes here. Creative, the maker of portable media players such as Zen Vision, is a 30 per cent shareholder in the Singapore-headquartered firm.
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