As a part of our #Outlook14 series, we asked heads of online music companies – Saavn, Gaana.com, Universal Music India, OKListen and NH7 about their focus areas for 2014, and the challenges that the online music ecosystem needs to address. MediaNama: Which according to you were the top developments and roadblocks with respect to the online music segment in 2013? Why? Vinodh Bhat, Saavn - Today’s consumers listening to music either on the web or through their mobiles seem more inclined to using music applications while traveling, shopping, hiring/ waiting for cabs- are all playing, etc. - Android devices continue to have strong momentum in India. - The biggest problem still faced by the industry is rampant piracy, and it is symbolic of a larger problem for consumers: existing demand for music is not being met by the available legitimate means to consume it. - A product that allows connectivity on the go, speed, choice, control, convenience, intuitive design, and an overall experience should be on par with the passion that people have for music in the first place. - In addition, while 3G rollouts have provided near nationwide coverage, 3G data consumption overall has been underwhelming. GBs and MBs are still foreign concepts to many Indian consumers to sign up for data. Devraj Sanyal, Universal Music - Other than iTunes there is no other comprehensive download store in offering for the India consumer. - On the streaming front, comprehensive content licenses across web and application, internet bandwidth and telco billing…
