iWorld
Clubhouse takes off in India amid pandemic
KOLKATA: With large parts of the country still under lockdown, people have begun exploring new virtual spaces to interact with each other. Within few days of its launch for androids in India, the social media app, Clubhouse recorded over one million Android downloads in the country pitching India as one of the top markets for this new emerging audio-based app.
“India seems to love it,” said Zoo Media and Foxymoron co-founder Pratik Gupta. “The platform is acting as both casual and formal setup to discuss diverse topics, so it’s an apt media vehicle for brands to latch onto. Early brand movers will gain an advantage; both in terms of scale & cost-effectiveness, right from the start. The concept is new – it’s almost like a talk show where people are free to express themselves.”
What are the opportunities for brands?
The opportunities lie in being able to either host a branded room or sponsor rooms that are hosted by prominent creators or simply aid and join third-party rooms for now. According to Grapes Digital national business head Rajeesh Rajagopalan, marketers may think about running their campaigns on the app going forward because the elements like chat apps, conference calls or podcasts would help marketers/brands to reach a diverse set of consumers.
“For a marketeer or an advertiser, Clubhouse presents a great opportunity to establish the brand and promote products, services, or events,” said Isobar India COO Gopa Kumar, adding that it gives a voice to an authentic narrative that is inherent in the platform as all the people and the conversations are real. “There are opportunities to share your brand purpose, story, connect with consumers at large, get their feedback, act as a focus group to know more about how and what they feel about the brand. Brands can start small and start seeing how they can establish a connection with the audience and push the narrative, cause, or story.”
Although the conversations are voice delivered like podcasts, the main difference is the chats are live. Since there is no recording, users tend to be hooked on to its content for long as they are anticipating and looking for conversations about topics they are interested in—whether to listen or share. “It is an extension of a Podcast hosted in a virtual venue around a limitless audience. It has reinforced the age-old power of human voice emotions,” Vizeum India ex-CEO Himanka Das said. Its key attribute is an audio medium, which sets it apart from established social media and messaging platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Sharechat, TikTok, Moj, WhatsApp, and YouTube.
The Indian market has the appetite to support audio-only platforms. But the app needs to localise its feature for the Indian market and tap into the regional languages more to capitalise on the audience, believe experts. “Any such social media platform will house rich data in these couple of months to deploy deep learning algorithms to derive actionable insights from consumer cohorts based on interest, interactions, and habits. This can bring magic to enable brands to curate audio content to drive structured conversations. This will be key to drive the metric for monetising for brands,” added Das.
How influencers can leverage the platform?
According to experts, it has become an important platform for influencers and creators to engage with their fan base. Influencers will play a critical role in driving conversation and traffic, once the initial hype starts to fade away. The width of content & topics available on the platform makes it an amazing platform for influencers to participate. For the audience, it gives them a sense of being up-close and personal with their favourite influencers.
“Clubhouse is a peer-to-peer network that can be leveraged by the influencer community to interact with the user base,” said Buzzoka CEO and co-founder Ashutosh Harbola. For example, they can quickly host a Room with 200 followers on the app. However, it won’t be a primary channel for influencer marketing. It can always be an extension for influencers to engage with the users in the long-term, he added. Considerably, Clubhouse now allows Instagram, Twitter profiles to be linked to the user profile.
Monetisation opportunities:
There are plenty of opportunities for brands to exploit the platform but it seems that Clubhouse may not restrict its monetisation to advertising revenue only. The app is looking to expand into payments, ticketing, subscription, ticketing, tipping, Clubhouse co-founder Rohan Seth said recently.
“Clubhouse will continue to focus on its audience expansion and methods to keep the creators incentivized & provide tools for better content creation. Clubhouse has recently launched Clubhouse Payments for direct payments to creators and has less focus on advertising revenue. These are still early days, and I think that the model that the business will adopt will be creator & payment to creator focussed. Brands will probably latch onto the creators through the platform itself, rather than opening it up to buying advertising space,” Zoo Media’s Gupta commented.
According to Isobar’s Kumar it is too early to comment on monetisation opportunities as the app is soon to end invite system, to be open to all. The very fact it was an invite-only medium early on and had an exclusivity element, attracted many users, and also promise privacy. Hence, the industry needs to wait to see how the platform and its users evolve over some time.
While the Indian government is in a standoff with few social media platforms regarding the implementation of new Information Technology Rules, Clubhouse founders expressed their willingness to comply with the new rules that came into effect on 26 May in a virtual press meet.
In a country driven by freedom of speech, one has to keep a close watch on the audio content responsibly with the new social media regulations. This is also good for the brand safety going forward, highlighted experts.
iWorld
Coke Studio Bharat unveils Season 4 artist line-up, Rekha Bhardwaj, Aditya Rikhari to lead
New season blends folk roots and modern voices in rich musical mix
MUMBAI: Coke Studio Bharat is tuning up for its fourth outing, unveiling a diverse artist line-up that promises to strike a chord between tradition and today.
After three seasons of blending regional sounds with contemporary flair, the platform returns with Season 4, opening with ‘The List’ that introduces a vibrant mix of voices from across the country. Among those taking centre stage are Rekha Bhardwaj, Aditya Rikhari, Kutle Khan, Faheem Abdullah, Arsalan Nizami, Mame Khan and Mohammad Faiz, alongside a host of emerging and established names.
If the previous season leaned into poetic revival and festive anthems, this edition dives deeper, weaving stories of devotion, longing and memory through India’s rich musical landscape. From Rajasthani folk and Punjabi Sufi traditions to Kashmiri storytelling and urban love ballads, the new season stretches across regions and emotions with equal ease.
Rekha Bhardwaj said, “Every generation rediscovers its roots in its own way. Coke Studio Bharat creates a space where tradition can evolve without losing its soul.”
Aditya Rikhari said, “My music has always been personal. This platform allows that intimacy to grow while reaching a much wider audience.”
Faheem Abdullah said, “Music carries memory and identity. Being part of this platform lets me bring my Kashmiri storytelling to a national stage.”
Backed by Coca-Cola India and in collaboration with Universal Music Group, the platform continues to position itself as a meeting ground for heritage and experimentation.
Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia IMX lead Shantanu Gangane said, “Coke Studio Bharat brings together folk traditions and contemporary voices, creating a powerful cultural narrative at scale.”
Universal Music Group chairman & CEO, India & South Asia, & senior vice president of strategy for AMeA Devraj Sanyal said, “The platform reflects the kind of creative ecosystem India needs, one that honours regional depth while building globally relevant sound.”
With fresh collaborations, unexpected pairings and stories rooted in place yet ready to travel, Season 4 looks set to turn up the volume on India’s many musical voices, one track at a time.
