Twitter
Advertisement

Guvera makes advertisers pay for your music

Most of the world today listens to music but does not want to pay for it, Guvera figured out how to use this as a business plan. In an exclusive interview with Claes Loberg, Founder and Director of Innovation at Guvera, Krishna Bahirwani explores the story of this new sensation to hit India.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

What created the motivation to have an app that makes advertisers pay for music?
Ever since the 'outbreak' of piracy worldwide, consumers have generally demanded free access to music. In response to the mass consumption of illegal music online, we created Guvera—a platform that provides users with a legal channel to access music online, and awards royalties to the artists and record labels responsible for producing it. Launched in 2008, Guvera offers a free and legal alternative to pirated music through our ad-funded model, thus ensuring growth and sustainability of the music industry, whereby local artists are rightfully rewarded.

Guvera's innovative ad-funded model is seamlessly integrated with the user experience. Our unique branded channels help brands connect with consumers through music in a targeted and non-intrusive manner. This model is created to provide a legitimate way for brands to demographically target and engage with consumers. Brands are brought to the forefront of the music experience in a manner which is non-disruptive, engaging and enjoyable for the consumer. Guvera is also working towards modifying the essence of content-targeting with its innovation and technology that matches relevant advertising with the end user.

How much of the content is available for free and how much is subscription only?
All music on the platform can be listened to for free. The difference between the two models is as follows: Guvera Play which is ad-funded and free to users, and Guvera Platinum which is a subscription-based service with premium features that is served up ad-free.

In this business model, where do you manage to get enough funds to run the business?
Guvera is financially backed by AMMA Private Equity, a boutique alternative investment firm based in Australia.

How are the artists compensated?
Guvera works on a model wherein the artist is paid his/ her royalties whenever their music is played on the app. In fact, as per research, the ad-funded model has the potential to return more revenue to artists and labels in comparison to various paid subscription models. Ad funded music, if it engages users for longer periods of time and allows them to engage more with brands over time, will generate more revenue than a static daily/monthly charge for music. Thus, giving artists and labels the potential to earn more and to contribute to the music ecosystem.

Does this app help Indian artists in any way?
We work with a 'tuned locally, programmed globally' philosophy, which means that we offer the best of international content while strongly focused on the local music scene. Our goal is to keep our users immersed and engaged through localized and relevant content, playlists and music on our platform. We're also focused on rewarding our users through on-ground events and unique experiences. In India, Guvera has an ever-expanding back catalogue which currently stands at 12 million tracks across various international, Bollywood and regional albums. So far, we have achieved a user base of up to 500,000 users in India and plan to increase the number to 1 million by December 2014.

Do you allow the average person to create playlists that other people can follow?
Of course. On Guvera, users can create and share custom playlists, follow friends & celebrities, expand their music library and find out what their favourite artists are listening to via its 'Celebrity Playlists' feature. Furthermore, Guvera's exclusive feature, #Play gives users the ability to choose their music. With a library of 12 million tracks across both web and mobile platforms in India, our users are enabled with a platform that easily combines personalized and curated content across multiple genres at once. #Play lists music in a hashtag format and users can select their preferred tags based on genre, mood, event and more. For example, one can select #Bollywood to find all the relevant content. This helps users search and discover new music in a fun, effortless way.
 

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement