Yesterday once more: FM radio tunes in to retro music

For FM radio operators, there’s evidently nothing like yesterday’s melody to shape their offerings for tomorrow’s listeners.

At least three major FM players have renewed their focus on retro music with newly acquired frequency stations and even web radios as they seek to differentiate their product offerings.

For example, Jagran media-owned Radio City is shaking up this space with the launch of ‘Radio City Gold’. The company recently launched seven new web stations, including Lata Mangeshkar Radio, Kishore Kumar Radio and RD Burman Radio.

Kartik Kalla, EVP and National Head – Programming and Marketing, Radio City, says, “We are getting into newer markets. Our existing platform too has a retro approach, which has a high listenership. Even advertisers are showing interest and our inventory slot is almost full for retro.”

Kalanithi Maran-owned Red FM too is offering music from the’90s through its new Redtro station. “The retro music category has been under-served. Our internal research too indicated that there was need for the music of the 90s. Companies are bidding for new stations and are experimenting with retro music as a chosen strategy,” says Nisha Narayanan, COO, Red FM. The company said it was also seeing advertiser traction on its new station. Digital Radio Broadcasting, which runs Red FM, had acquired the frequency in November 2015 for ₹123 crore.

Industry watchers say that the invocation of nostalgic tunes even makes business sense; retro inventory can be acquired at lower costs relative to contemporary music titles. Advertisers too are keen to pump money into such stations given their broader appeal among listeners.

The trend of going retro had started with Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Broadcast Network’s 92.7 Big FM. The company had gone completely retro in 2013, with seven stations pan-India. Industry watchers note that the company has been progressively increasing its reach and garnering ad revenue.

Anand Chakravarthy, Managing Partner, Maxus, media agency of GroupM, says, “Radio stations need a differentiation strategy. Music from the 60s,70s, 80s and 90s have a huge pan-India appeal. Additionally, retro content may come cheaper than contemporary music, and is therefore hugely profitable for operators.”

According to a FICCI-KPMG report on Media and Entertainment, “Radio continued its strong run with a 15.3 per cent growth in 2015. Following the new stations licensed in Phase 3 and consolidation in the industry, radio is transforming from a ‘coverage’ media to a ‘reach’ platform.

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