MUMBAI: Saregama has finally launched its long awaited music service where each track can be streamed for free and downloaded for Rs 9. If you were among the few to have seen the previous Saregama site, you will realise the changes to the new site, in terms of look and the music player. It is a completely new product. Radioandmusic.com first reported about the service last year.
Near the Saregama logo, there are four main divisions – Hindi, Regional, Devotional and Languages (35 sub-categories), making it easier to access content. Currently, the website is promoting Sufi Music on its main page, followed by Ustad Bismillah Khan and Madan Mohan amongst other artistes. Other categories include Top Songs, Artists, Albums, Exclusive and Moods, elements that can be found on other streaming sites as well.
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As per sources, the website was launched a few weeks ago. The present website is an ad-free streaming site, with smooth user interference. It allows you to share tracks through Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and Email, adding a social element to the service.
The label has digitised its complete catalogue right from Gauhar Jan to the soundtrack of its latest film ‘Heropanti’.
Options offered by the music player include ‘Share’, ‘Embed’, ‘Add to Cart’, ‘Add to Favourites’ and ‘Add to Playlist’, amongst others. The option called ‘Experience 360’ is perhaps one of the more interesting elements of the player as it provides users with information regarding the song, artistes, video and artist biography.
The player also provides suggestions for similar sounding music or tracks sung by same artistes and other such features for users. Whether you are a retro music lover or a Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge fan, Saregama can provide all those options. It also offers audio files of famous and not so famous dialogues, along with music of the films they are featured in. Saregama’s catalogue also includes famous speeches by Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Moulana Azad and Dr B R Ambedkar, and many other renowned leaders, all of which can be streamed through the player. Users can even listen to ‘Geetmala Ki Chhaon Mein’ by Ameen Sayani on Saregama.
So far, Saregama has complied songs by 38,321artistes and has around 25,022 albums in its various categories. The music player also recommends songs based on various moods like surprise, humour, spiritual, greeting and patriotic, amongst others. The site has also made available a few remix compilations.
Users can select any audio file and hit the ‘Caller Tune’ option and set it as a CRBT for their phones. The company has partnered with several telecom operators including Vodafone, Aircel, Tata Docomo, BSNL, Idea, Reliance, Uninor, Airtel, Dialog, Etisalat, Mobily, Mobitel, Orange and Viva amongst others.
To enjoy the service with no hurdles, users can login through Facebook or their email-ids to get updates on the service.
There is a possibility for this platform to become a destination for retro music lovers who find it difficult to access Saregama content through other streaming sites. One will have to wait and see if Saregama is able to drive the kind of traffic that other streaming services drive or claim to do so.
Currently, the company is working on creating two apps and also building Saregama’s mobile site. The company will soon have more digital products to offer in the coming months.
Formerly known as The Gramophone Company of India Ltd, Saregama owns the largest music archives in India, one of the biggest in the world. The ownership of nearly 50 per cent of all the music ever recorded in India lies with the record company.
