subject: Bollywood Music & Movies On The Airwaves [print this page] Time was when the success of a movie was directly dependent on the Friday reviews of acclaimed critics in popular daily publications. Today, box office earnings are decided months in advance, based on the success of the soundtrack. From item numbers to hypnotic Sufi melodies, Bollywood music has become the defining attribute of Indian cinema.
Now more so than ever, successful album launches and sales can make or break a movie, more than a star cast or trailer ever could. While plots, super villains and cinematography have a limited shelf-life, the soundtrack a movie lives on in discotheques and on the radio. And Bollywood leans heavily on the airwaves for a formula for success.
Not more than a decade ago, Indian airwaves could boast of only one radio station Government run AIR (All India Radio). This single station covered everything from sports to music, from quiz shows to the news. That number has gone up to about a dozen privately owned stations in each metro. Many of these stations are part of larger media groups which include newspapers, film production houses television channels in their portfolio. Concurrently, radio listenership has also increased exponentially over the last few years as the content distributed on these stations has become streamlined. This can be credited to numerous factors:
1) The growth in the number of people who drive to work and tune in during their commute
2) A younger generation of Radio Jockeys, who entertain rather than just inform
3) The integration in almost all mobile phones (smart and J2ME) has put a portable radio in every pocket
4) The availability of affordable FM radios (for as little as Rs. 50) has made it an inexpensive mode of entertainment
5) Trends in Bollywood music, which cater to all musical sensibilities
These factors, combined with the large audience that Bollywood boasts, and the massive listenership of FM radio, results in a perfectly symbiotic relationship made in celluloid heaven. Today, most every FM radio station (with a few exceptions) plays exclusively Bollywood music. And Bollywood movies and music have come a long way, expanding their repertoire to include Hip-Hop, R & B, Rap, House, Sufi, Rock, Punk, Classical and Blues influences, thus broadening their appeal. Such is the popularity of Bollywood music, that there exists a fierce race between radio stations to be the first to premiere music on their shows, before the competition.
But Bollywood promotions for new releases dont stop at the soundtrack. A popular trend is exclusive interviews with the cast of a movie, which more people tune in to than your average talk show on TV. Add to this radio advertising spots for movies, and FM forms an integral part of the 360 degree strategy for Bollywood promoters, which includes Print, Outdoors, TV spots, Digital, Ambient, and Radio.
Bollywood directly provides an almost endless repository of content for FM radio, while radio stations provide a launch pad and active sustenance for Bollywood, thus working seamlessly and successfully together.
