iWorld
Reliance Jio adds 1.68 mn wireless subscribers in April: Trai
Mumbai: Reliance Jio added 1.68 million wireless subscribers at the end of April, as per subscription data by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Bharti Airtel added 0.81 million wireless subscribers during the same period. Vodafone Idea lost 1.56 million wireless subscribers in April.
The total number of wireless subscribers increased from 1,142.09 million to 1,142.66 million in April. The wireless subscription in urban areas decreased from 624.23 million to 623.78 million. However, wireless subscription in rural areas increased from 517.86 million to 518.88 million.
As per Trai data, there were 1013.81 million active wireless subscribers during the month. Reliance Jio had the highest number of active wireless subscribers at 378.85 million followed by Bharti Airtel at 352.68 million and Vodafone Idea at 222.33 million. BSNL had 59.31 million active wireless subscribers.
As per information received from 657 operators in April, Trai found that total broadband subscribers increased from 788.30 million to 788.77 million. The broadband subscribers comprised 759.87 million mobile device users, 27.25 million wired subscribers and 1.18 million fixed wireless subscribers.
The top five broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm with 411.31 million subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 215.28 million subscribers, Vodafone Idea with 122.06 million subscribers, BSNL with 26.10 million subscribers and Atria Convergence with 2.08 million subscribers.
The top five wired broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm with 5.63 million subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 4.85 million subscribers, BSNL with 3.80 million subscribers, Atria Convergence with 2.08 million subscribers and Hathway Cable and Datacom with 1.11 million subscribers.
The top five wireless broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm, with 405.68 million subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 210.43 million subscribers, Vodafone Idea with 122.05 million subscribers, BSNL with 22.29 million subscribers and Intech Online with 0.21 million subscribers.
The number of wireline subscribers increased from 24.84 million to 25.16 million in April.
The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,166.93 million to 1,167.82 million. Urban telephone subscription decreased from 647.11 million to 646.99 million. However, rural subscription increased from 519.82 million to 520.82 million.
iWorld
Anirudh Ravichander and Universal Music India join forces to take South India’s sound to the world
The composer behind 13 billion streams launches Albuquerque Records with UMI as its exclusive global partner
MUMBAI: Universal Music India has struck an exclusive partnership with Albuquerque Records, the freshly minted independent label of singer-composer Anirudh Ravichander, in a deal that bets big on South India’s booming pop and hip-hop scene going global.
The arrangement, announced on 17 March, will see Universal Music India handle future pop and hip-hop releases by Anirudh himself, as well as artists signed to the new label. A first release is already in the pipeline for April, featuring Anirudh.
The numbers behind the man are hard to ignore. Debuting in 2012 with the viral sensation “Why This Kolaveri Di”, Anirudh has since clocked over 13 billion audio streams across more than 770 tracks, cementing his position as the No.1 South Indian artist on Spotify by total streams. His fingerprints are all over some of the Tamil film industry’s biggest musical moments, from Hukum and Vaathi Coming to Arabic Kuthu and the A23 Theme.
But Albuquerque Records is a different beast. Built for the non-film space, it is designed to nurture independent talent and champion the next wave of Indian pop voices. “Universal Music India’s leadership in pop and hip-hop made them the natural partner,” said Anirudh. “I’m excited to take independent voices to audiences around the world.”
Universal Music India’s chairman and CEO Devraj Sanyal was equally effusive. “Anirudh represents the future of Indian music, bold, original, and with enormous potential,” he said. “Identifying transformative talent is our superpower, and this partnership reflects that belief.”
Sanujeet Bhujabal, managing director of Universal Music India, framed the deal as more than a distribution play. “Albuquerque Records represents Anirudh’s bold artistic vision in the world of pop and hip-hop,” he said. “True to his legacy of innovation, this partnership is set to establish yet another landmark creative space, this time for the emerging world of iPop and beyond.”
For Universal Music India, the deal deepens a long-running push into South India’s four key language markets: Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu. The label already has regional imprints, film partnerships with Maddock Films and Excel Entertainment, and a growing non-film roster. Landing Anirudh, arguably the south’s most bankable music brand, is a statement of intent. South Indian music has the streams. Now it is coming for the world.
