RadioVeRVe

The RadioVeRVe Logo

RadioVeRVe is an internet radio station operating out of Bangalore, India. It differentiates itself from other FM and internet radio stations by focusing exclusively on independent music from India.

It addresses the common problem that independent artistes face all over the world - mainstream radio doesn't play their music, so reach is limited. The RadioVeRVe team decided to pool their talents together and create a one-of-its-kind venture, India's first Internet radio station dedicated wholly to independent Indian music.[1]

First launched on June 1, 2006, RadioVeRVe originally launched as a platform to showcase rock music performed by unpublished bands in India, and to feature music performed by these bands, as well as interviews and news about them. It has since widened its musical scope to rock, heavy metal, easy listening, regional language and Indian classical music.

The station has received interest from both the press as well as the music industry in India, and caters to thousands of listeners across the world 24 hours a day. Artistes featured on the station credit it with being responsible for their reaching audiences that they had not hoped to reach earlier, and getting record label offers, shows and even international tours.[2]

Station Content

To be featured on RadioVeRVe, artistes or bands need to be independent (or indie) Indian bands or musicians creating original music and with no formal affiliation to record labels as yet. The artistes have to be located in India—to avoid commercial conflicts, the station does not currently play music performed by Indian artistes not located in India.

Shows are RJ'd, with some hours reserved for the "Randomizer", where music is played at random from the huge database of songs available. As songs are played, information is displayed about the performer on the website, including links to their websites and other contact information, allowing listeners to take up contact with the artists for the purchase of their CDs, booking them for shows, recording contracts, etc.

History

The station, which currently runs in non-commercial mode, is run by Gaurav Vaz, a well known musician in Bangalore and Shreyas Srinivasan, an active FOSS developer, with financial support from employers and well wishers, and operational and content (RJ) inputs from friends and volunteers. The infrastructure for the station has been completely based on open source software.

Along with Kaustubh Srikanth, the station actually started as an experiment called "Infinity Radio" in late 2005, with a broadcast of about two hours of content every weekday night, RJ'd live over the net. This was found to be a limiting factor, as the station could be heard by only few people, and technological problems threw up roadblocks. They turned to their friend Atul Chitnis, who showed them how to record and ‘can’ shows, setting them up for a bigger presence online, recording in his basement studio.

In June 2006, the site launched as a 24x7 channel, adopting the name "RadioVeRVe". (The strange capitalization of the name is intentional and part of the station's "branding"). From 10 listeners, Radio Verve’s audience went up to hundreds overnight as the operation eventually moved to a round-the-clock mode.[3] In early 2007, the project received a big boost by securing sponsorship from Indian IT firm Geodesic Information Systems.

The channel took a conscious decision not to offer music downloads, and in early 2007 began establishing partnerships with existing retail outlets that offer independent music, such as Music Yogi, to allow listeners to buy the music they were hearing.

In June 2007, RadioVeRVe expanded to seven channels, showcasing both rock as well as regional language and non-rock music.

The station has announced that they will be adding more regional-language channels, as well as a folk music channel.

Tuning in

The station's channels can be listened to both on the web (via the RadioVeRVe website) as well as through traditional streaming using internet radio client applications and devices. Streams are available in low-bandwidth (suitable for use on mobile GPRS connections) as well as high-bandwidth (suitable for Wi-Fi or broadband connections) versions. Currently, streams only are in the MP3 format. Information about the streams is available on the website.[4]

References

  1. ↑ The Hindu : Metro Plus Bangalore / Music : Login to radio
  2. ↑ http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=201516
  3. ↑ Codejocks power Net radio for indie music - livemint
  4. ↑ Playlists

External links