Mobile Radio by G-Series

THE CHALLENGE

In Bangladesh, G-Series is the largest music producer of Bangla songs. Over the past years, sales of CDs, albums and cassettes have dwindled dramatically and these instruments are fading away into oblivion in the new overpowering dawn of MP3s and downloads. Digital piracy is fast becoming the reigning king of the musical landscape and music label companies, like it or not, must reinvent themselves or become irrelevant.How would a company like G-Series therefore keep their music both relevant and compelling?

THE SOLUTION

SSD-TECH worked in partnership with G-Series to launch the new Mobile Radio, an IVR-based music radio (jukebox) service, which can also be described as “live streaming radio on mobile networks”.

Employing a convenient “subscription service” model with weekly free minutes, Mobile Radio was a huge hit upon launch. This service was the first of its kind in the market. Mobile subscribers all over Bangladesh could call a number and enjoy intelligent and non-stop radio service. They could also subscribe to new albums as G-Series secured exclusive rights to release albums of various famous artistes. The Mobile Radio platform protects musicians’ rights by discouraging re-recording and piracy of music.

KEY BENEFITS DELIVERED

• Intelligent, customizable music on the go The Mobile Radio is an intelligent, non-stop music playing station akin to RM radio with extended capability of creating automated playlists, which can be automatically played out whenever the service is accessed. It can track songs heard by the subscriber over time and play a selection based on previously heard songs. It also has the added functionality of downloading tracks, setting them as ringtone, background music or ring2me jingle.
• Music for All Mobile Radio offers a myriad collection of songs categorized in languages (more than 20 language categories), genres, eras and moods making it a prime service for users of all types. It boasts an extensive regional and devotional content housed in a library of more than 100k songs, appealing to a wide range of listeners.

THE RECOGNITION

The Mobile Radio won Best Mobile Music Service for Airtel at the Asia Mobile Awards 2008, MACAU. The service has garnered around 100,000 subscribers to date, and is especially popular among the younger generation of music aficionados

By partnering with modern artistes and securing exclusive album release rights, the Mobile Radio also serves as an ideal launch pad for jump-starting the careers of young and upcoming music stars, helping local musicians break into the competitive scene and giving them a cost effective platform to be heard. While the conventional music label does not seem to be raking in substantial ROI for music label companies anymore, Mobile Radio keeps music fresh, protected and user-friendly – appealing to the larger Bangladeshi majority of mobile phone subscribers.