GECs
Saregama to open online music store
MUMBAI: Move over Apple. Music label Saregama India is set to enter the online music market aimed entirely at the “generation on the go”.
The company is expected to launch the beta version of its online service by the end of June, while the official launch is likely to happen in August, barring any glitches. However, the company is yet to zero in on the name of the service.
The new venture will be part of the listed entity Saregama India Ltd.
Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, Saregama India VP publishing and new media Atul Churamani says, “Indeed we are marching towards the digital music revolution. We have already singed in 43 South Indian music labels.”
Through Saregama online music service, songs can be downloaded to PC, copied to CD, mobile, played on a portable iPod or another digital instrument. The company will also make services and features available, including streaming videos, movies, television software, games and e-radio for purchase.
As music-buffs are hungry to get music from new convenient and flexible sources, Churamani further adds, “We are committed to make a huge music catalogue available online and are in talks with the bigges of the Bollywood industry also to share their music library.”
Churamani, however, was not forthcoming on the revenue sharing model the company has established with its associates. For the initial period, Saregama will be deriving its revenues through the pay-per-song model (Rs 12/song), according to Churamani. As of now, Saragama has an online bank of 70,000 songs. The software for the new servive has been developed and powered by mobile2win.
Saregama India already runs a service HamaraCD.com, which provides an option of creating your own audio CDs of your favourite songs. The music company has a vast catalogue cutting across all genres and languages, includes film music, devotional, ghazals and classical music, Indi pop, remixes and regional songs.
Internationally, the service is already being provided most famously through Apple’s iTunes. Napster and the recently launched Urge (a tie-up between MTV networks and Microsoft) are also in the online music game.
For India too, the digital music era is now close at hand.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… connection because this time, the game isn’t just about winning, it’s about who’s with you. Sony Pictures Networks India is gearing up to launch a new reality game show, Tum Ho Naa, expanding its unscripted slate with a format that promises both emotion and engagement.
The show will premiere soon on Sony Entertainment Television and stream on Sony LIV, with Rajeev Khandelwal stepping in as host. Known for his measured screen presence and selective choices, Khandelwal’s return to television adds a layer of familiarity and credibility to the upcoming format.
While specific details of the gameplay remain under wraps, the positioning suggests a reality format that leans as much on emotional resonance as it does on competition, an increasingly popular blend in Indian television, where audiences are gravitating towards content that offers both stakes and storytelling.
Khandelwal, reflecting on his return, noted that his choices have often been guided by instinct rather than convention, describing Tum Ho Naa as a project that feels “close to the heart”. His association also signals Sony’s continued focus on anchoring new formats with recognisable faces who bring both relatability and depth.
The launch comes at a time when broadcasters are doubling down on original non-fiction formats to drive appointment viewing, even as digital platforms expand parallel reach. By placing the show across both linear television and OTT, Sony appears to be aiming for a dual-audience strategy capturing traditional viewers while engaging digital-first consumers.
As the countdown to premiere begins, Tum Ho Naa positions itself not just as another game show, but as a reminder that sometimes, the biggest prize on screen isn’t the jackpot, it’s the journey shared along the way.
