The coronavirus impact has inculcated ‘social distancing’ in everyone to stay safe and healthy till the outbreak subsides. Most countries are under lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading any further. During these tough times, music streaming apps are urging singer and producers to launch new music through their portals and start initiating everything online. They are also arranging for donations and charities, among other things, to help everyone cope up with the loss of business.
Recently, on 29th March, the Indian Music community came up with the ‘Live in your Living Room’ initiative where singers like Armaan Malik, Lisa Mishra and Naezy performed through Live videos. Similarly, BookMyShow also initiated a campaign featuring artists and comedians to perform live through their homes. This included Vir Das, Prateek Kuhad and also the Indian Ocean.
What Are Music Streaming Apps Doing For Customer Engagement During Coronavirus?
There are quite a few online music streaming apps that are creating interest content to keep everyone engaged and also provide relief during this pandemic.
- Spotify: Spotify is one of the hottest music streaming applications that is now working with several organisations to provide financial aid. It has its own initiative called the
Spotify COVID-19 Music Relief that brings other organisations in the purview of the public to increase charity. - Gaana: Gaana has emphasized the power of music to pave through the distractions provided by nature during this pandemic. Even when we’re home, worried and scared about the safety of ourselves and our own, music is the only thing that brings hope for a new dawn.
- Kantar: Kantar is the subsidiary of VTION’s passive OTT Audio Audience Measurement service data. It made a recent revelation that ever since the outbreak started, there has been a 42% increase in listening to music online for age the 18 to 35 age group.
- YouTube Music: Alongside Amazon Music, YouTube Music is also donating funds for the MusiCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund. In an interview, Neeraj Roy, founder and CEO, Hungama Digital Media, says, “The world is in the midst of an unprecedented crisis and staying at home is advised to be the only way to flatten the curve. We understand that music streaming has become second nature for most digital consumers in the country. As a nation, we are mostly dependent on movies for our music and with no new film releases in the foreseeable future, there won’t be any new movie-driven music releases too. This has made it extremely important for music streaming platforms to look for innovative ways to maintain regular engagement with their users and keep them entertained.”
- Hungama Artist Aloud: This platform is known to launch multi-talents across India. In its recent chapter, it unfolded a #StayAtHome campaign featuring artists like Shibani Kashyap, Mame Khan, Suneeta Rao, Manasi Scott, Sherrin Varghese etc who will be going live on Facebook performing acoustic covers of your favourite music this week.
The nationwide lockdown is on till the 14th of April. Only time will tell if the lockdown will further extend or we will finally see some hope for the safety of everyone in India and the world.
Source: ET Brand Equity
