The birth of social radio channels and social RJs

Hmmmm… The whole village and sometimes the whole colony used to listen to Radio together and the same thing happened when TV arrived. Only few people had it and others had to manage with keeping good relations with people had it. Times changed and the cost of these technologies came down and caught up with rising salaries and affluence. And now it was difficult to find anybody who does not have a TV or a radio. The music bug went a little bit further and personal digital music devices coupled with mobiles helped us carry loads of music in a small form factor with so much ease.

But we are primarily a social animal. Enjoying something in isolation does not mean much. We love to flaunt what we like and what we like defines our individuality and existence. Music is also like that and now the consumers of music are much more demanding and want to go beyond just listening. They want it in an interesting format which is more engaging and also a medium which is bi-directional not uni-directional.

In past 9-10 months I have been trying to create a Social Radio Channel – Bhoole Bisre Geet ( aka BBG ) which has spread to over 32K fans spread across the world focused on Old Hindi film music. We have created such a large family of music lovers. It has been a pleasure to be the Social RJ for this Social Radio Channel. I have met so many interesting people in this process and also learnt a lot on what makes a vibrant online community. Hoping to continue this journey and build this to a bigger family across the world and promote good music.

Besides the overall cause, the biggest benefit for me has been a rather personal one. This platform has enabled me to get back in touch with music. This is a connection I lost in the process of handling various life and career issues. It feels good to be able to spend some time in a day focused on listening to amazing words and music created by the legends of Indian music.