Spotify is ramping up its spoken word content offering in India.
After launching its first three Original podcasts in India last December ( 22 Yarns With Gaurav Kapur, Bhaskar Bose, and Love Aaj Kal with Aastha & Ankit ), the streaming platform has now added an additional 12 originally-produced podcasts.
Predominantly non-fiction content, the podcasts explore “news, heroes across communities, candid conversations, and a slice of life in India”.
Several more original podcasts and subsequent seasons of successful podcasts will launch on Spotify this year, according to the company.
In addition to the new original podcasts, Spotify has inked exclusive content partnerships with popular radio stations Radio City and Big FM, as well as Indian podcast and spoken-word audio network Aawaz.com.
The deal with Big FM in particular will provide Spotify users with access to 15,000 minutes of the station’s content spread across 13 marquee shows and 1,240 episodes.
The 12 new original podcasts include the recently launched shows such as Special Mission with Gul Panag, Maha Bharat with Dhruv Rathee, Zindagi Unplugged, Our Last Week with Anuvab & Kunaal and Off Script with Salil, with a total of over 200 episodes, all of which are already live.
Several of these Spotify Original podcasts have regularly featured on the app’s podcast charts in the country, including Zindagi Unplugged, Off Script with Salil, and Special Mission with Gul Panag.
According to Spotify, over the past year, ‘Society & Culture’ podcast content has emerged as the top genre on the platform in India, with programs such as The Ranveer Show, On Purpose with Jay Shetty, TED Talks Daily, Sadhguru, 7 Good Minutes Daily Self-Improvement, among others.
Spotify launched in India in February 2019, and subsequently confirmed in April 2019 that it had more than 2 million active users in the market.
The streaming company recently signed a new licensing deal with India’s oldest label, Saregama, which will see 100,000 songs from the historic record company’s catalog added to the streaming platform in the market.
“It has been heartening to see the growing traction for podcasts on our platform in India. We’ve continuously analysed what users are listening to, and gradually commissioned Original podcasts that our local users relate to, and want to engage with.”
Amarjit Batra, Spotify India
Amarjit Batra, Managing Director at Spotify India, said: “It has been heartening to see the growing traction for podcasts on our platform in India.
“We’ve continuously analysed what users are listening to, and gradually commissioned Original podcasts that our local users relate to, and want to engage with.
“Much of this content is non-fiction, but we are also open to fiction. Besides the original content, we now have exclusive access to over 600 hours of content from Radio City, Big FM, and Aawaz.com, giving our growing listener base more reasons to make podcast listening a habit.”
Added Batra: “Creating high quality podcasts is a relatively new phenomenon in India, and at Spotify, we are keen to work with committed creators and production houses to bring relevant, local content for not only listeners in India, but also for our millions of users across 78 other markets.
“We’ve already worked with over 20 creators for Spotify Original podcasts in India, and have brought global best practices to them, increasing operational and creative efficiencies.”
“We are happy that Spotify recognizes the value of this content and is hosting it on their platform.”
Sunil Kumaran, BIG FM
Sunil Kumaran, Country Head, Product, Marketing & THWINK BIG, BIG FM, said: “This is the time for us to leverage that repertoire of content and expertise we have built over the years.
“We are happy that Spotify recognizes the value of this content and is hosting it on their platform. We are very excited about this association and look forward to doing some great work together.”
“Our content on Spotify will further amplify the reach of our content amongst our loyal base of listeners whilst tapping into new ones.”
Abraham Thomas, Reliance Broadcast Network
Abraham Thomas, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited, added: “This is an important milestone in our journey as we evolve to an audio entertainment company.
“BIG FM has always been a pioneer in presenting distinctive audio content for its listeners through various formats, properties and campaigns.
“Our content on Spotify will further amplify the reach of our content amongst our loyal base of listeners whilst tapping into new ones.
“We have created yet another avenue for our listeners to explore, experience and enjoy their favorite music and shows at their convenience ensuring they are entertained and informed at all time.”Music Business Worldwide
