In the past two years, Gautam Raj Anand says he’s read more books than he
has in his 27 years — and that’s because he’s listening to them, not
actually poring over every word. The founder and CEO of Hubhopper a
Delhi-based podcasts aggregator, says it’s his own experience of the
ease of using audiobooks that convinced him of audio’s potential as a
medium.
Anand started Hubhopper as a social network in 2015, but pivoted over time to an AI-enabled repository of podcasts, and he’s now aiming to create a community of podcasters in regional languages. “One way to do that is to disassociate the medium from the word ‘podcast’. We need to escape the niche and elitist impression it creates,” he says. Audio content has been popular for decades in India, and it’s just a matter of reviving it, he believes. Hubhopper has raised four rounds of funding, including an undisclosed pre-series A investment from a VC firm. It receives close to 100 creator requests on its platform every week, but only 25% of the leads make the cut.
Early trends indicate that 2019 may be the year of audio, say experts. In 2018, Amazon launched its audiobooks platform Audible in India, Google Audiobooks opened access to Indian users, and last year Sweden-based audiobooks firm Storytel started an Indian arm. Global media reports suggest that streaming major Spotify is set to look beyond music and enter the podcasting world, with India on its priority list. Audioboom India, an on-demand audio platform, gets 15 lakh listens on an average each month for podcasts, with 80% of its listeners are in the age group of 18-34.
Yogesh Dashrath, country manager, Storytel India, said the group took almost “a courageous leap” betting on India’s audio space in 2017. “The Jio effect on smartphones and Netflix’s effect on the subscription business model has helped increase appeal of audio in India,” he says.
The convenience of podcasts is at the heart of its popularity. Increasing commute times, faster data, smartphone penetration, and the country’s preference for passive content that doesn’t need one’s full attention make the audio space ripe for entrepreneurs to venture into. IVM, Audiomatic and Indicast are other startups that host narrative audio content across news, sports, pop culture and entrepreneurship. Media enterprises too are tapping podcasts as an additional touch point to reach users.
Audiomatic, co-founded by Rajesh Tahil and Tariq Ansari in 2015, pegs itself as a spot for quality narrative content and hosts five shows across culture, current affairs and food. Tahil, who also heads operations at a digital media enterprise, admits that Audiomatic is currently in a phase of “market discovery”, and is trying to spread podcasts beyond the niche audience it currently enjoys. While he refused to disclose listener metrics, Tahil said the self-funded Audiomatic’s adoption has grown close to 300% in three years.
One of the most popular genres is startup-themed podcasts. From Reid Hoffman’s Masters of Scale in the US to The Indian Startup Show by Neil Patel, entrepreneurs are lapping up insights on leadership, innovation and productivity via podcasts. “Given an entrepreneur’s hectic lifestyle, podcasts are a huge resource for growing your enterprise,” says Hubhopper’s Anand, noting that podcasts have been his single source of support in scaling up his own business. Audiomatic's Tahil agrees: “It’s a great forum for discussing challenges and sharing experiences as an entrepreneur.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/trend-tracking/why-podcasters-are-betting-on-desi-content/articleshow/67001341.cms
Read more about: Hindi Podcasting
Anand started Hubhopper as a social network in 2015, but pivoted over time to an AI-enabled repository of podcasts, and he’s now aiming to create a community of podcasters in regional languages. “One way to do that is to disassociate the medium from the word ‘podcast’. We need to escape the niche and elitist impression it creates,” he says. Audio content has been popular for decades in India, and it’s just a matter of reviving it, he believes. Hubhopper has raised four rounds of funding, including an undisclosed pre-series A investment from a VC firm. It receives close to 100 creator requests on its platform every week, but only 25% of the leads make the cut.
Early trends indicate that 2019 may be the year of audio, say experts. In 2018, Amazon launched its audiobooks platform Audible in India, Google Audiobooks opened access to Indian users, and last year Sweden-based audiobooks firm Storytel started an Indian arm. Global media reports suggest that streaming major Spotify is set to look beyond music and enter the podcasting world, with India on its priority list. Audioboom India, an on-demand audio platform, gets 15 lakh listens on an average each month for podcasts, with 80% of its listeners are in the age group of 18-34.
Yogesh Dashrath, country manager, Storytel India, said the group took almost “a courageous leap” betting on India’s audio space in 2017. “The Jio effect on smartphones and Netflix’s effect on the subscription business model has helped increase appeal of audio in India,” he says.
The convenience of podcasts is at the heart of its popularity. Increasing commute times, faster data, smartphone penetration, and the country’s preference for passive content that doesn’t need one’s full attention make the audio space ripe for entrepreneurs to venture into. IVM, Audiomatic and Indicast are other startups that host narrative audio content across news, sports, pop culture and entrepreneurship. Media enterprises too are tapping podcasts as an additional touch point to reach users.
Audiomatic, co-founded by Rajesh Tahil and Tariq Ansari in 2015, pegs itself as a spot for quality narrative content and hosts five shows across culture, current affairs and food. Tahil, who also heads operations at a digital media enterprise, admits that Audiomatic is currently in a phase of “market discovery”, and is trying to spread podcasts beyond the niche audience it currently enjoys. While he refused to disclose listener metrics, Tahil said the self-funded Audiomatic’s adoption has grown close to 300% in three years.
One of the most popular genres is startup-themed podcasts. From Reid Hoffman’s Masters of Scale in the US to The Indian Startup Show by Neil Patel, entrepreneurs are lapping up insights on leadership, innovation and productivity via podcasts. “Given an entrepreneur’s hectic lifestyle, podcasts are a huge resource for growing your enterprise,” says Hubhopper’s Anand, noting that podcasts have been his single source of support in scaling up his own business. Audiomatic's Tahil agrees: “It’s a great forum for discussing challenges and sharing experiences as an entrepreneur.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/trend-tracking/why-podcasters-are-betting-on-desi-content/articleshow/67001341.cms
Read more about: Hindi Podcasting
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