Category: Event Coverage

MUMBAI: True that the emergent trends of mobile advertising, OEM-managed services, bundled content on devices and open DRM are some of the factors that will drive new business models and opportunities for all stakeholders. But what are the early developing models and what new thought processes are required by content owners, operators and service providers to leverage these new opportunities?

These are the questions dealt with by speakers at the interactive session entitled “Mobile Entertainment: Opportunities in emerging business models.”

Ralph Simon, one of the earliest proponents of the concept of mobile entertainment and chairman Emeritus and founder of Mobile Entertainment Forum – America, outlined the changes that have come over mobile in the last few years: fundamental shift into digital; an emerging landscape of new business models; changes in people‘s behaviour and the emergence of new content formats.

“Traditional media players now have to enable their established assets to also serve digital media channels, reach their consumers on new platforms and combine traditional strengths of their brands with new enablers,” Simon said.

He also said that mobile advertising will give rise to smart cross-platform marketing avenues and new revenue-generating opportunities for media. In the context of India, the new driver for the mobile business, according to him, is consumers‘ affinity for a digital lifestyle.

Soundbuzz, Motorola CEO Sudhanshu Sarronwala said that new business models are dramatically emerging and that web search on mobile is a potential model.

The speakers also touched upon the issue of DRM-free content and the emergence of handset players in services and content.

The panel agreed with the Merchant brothers‘ demand that educational institutions to promote music be set up in coordination with corporates so that musicians can be trained.

While piracy continues to dog the industry, Simon suggested that creators of music, that is now a contextual backdrop in everything we do, should now look at different platforms and formats to monetise their creations.

“Artistes need to become cross platform artistes and music labels need to develop the trust of both the consumer and the artistes”, he pointed out.

The Radiohead experience in the US was not just a counter intuitive one, but also a clever publicity stunt that managed to generate a lot of ‘sneezes‘ – a term Simon used to explain the phenomenon of generating interest about a creative product.

The panelists also argued for the development of non film music in the country, a genre that has suffered while Bollywood music has become overpowering in its reach and grasp.

Panday who spoke next, dwelt on the ‘P‘s crucial to the industry – piracy, popularisation of music and pop music that has been ignored in the din of popular Bollywood music. “Radio is able to deliver more music to listeners than TV can,” he pointed out, saying that radio would soon take up more initiatives to find fresh talent.

Makkar, in his address, said that while physical sales are declining, the coming up of new formats like digitized music would help the industry.

One of the major reasons of the fate of music in India being questioned is the pattern of consumption, he pointed out. People are more keen on ownership of carriers and the technology of delivering the music than the content itself, he said.

Salim Merchant averred that while there is a vibrant film industry, there is no ‘music industry‘. His contention was that the music today is dependent on the film industry so much so that it does not have its individuality. He focused on the lack of encouragement for indi-pop albums today and how a music composer gets restricted with the certain film briefs. “The problem also lies in” he continued, “the budding talent which is unwilling to learn physical music.Everyone wants to switch to softwares available on their laptops.”

The Merchant brothers now look forward to setting up a music school which would educate talent in music.

MUMBAI: The last day of Ficci Frames 08‘ witnessed a provocative discussion on “Listener‘s Choice: Changing trends in music” among Mobile Entertainment Forum Americas chairman emeritus and founder Ralph Simon, Big Music CEO Kulmeet Makkar, music composers Salim and Sulaiman Merchant and Radio Mirchi CEO Prashant Panday.

The panel agreed with the Merchant brothers‘ demand that educational institutions to promote music be set up in coordination with corporates so that musicians can be trained.

While piracy continues to dog the industry, Simon suggested that creators of music, that is now a contextual backdrop in everything we do, should now look at different platforms and formats to monetise their creations.

“Artistes need to become cross platform artistes and music labels need to develop the trust of both the consumer and the artistes”, he pointed out.

The Radiohead experience in the US was not just a counter intuitive one, but also a clever publicity stunt that managed to generate a lot of ‘sneezes‘ – a term Simon used to explain the phenomenon of generating interest about a creative product.

The panelists also argued for the development of non film music in the country, a genre that has suffered while Bollywood music has become overpowering in its reach and grasp.

Panday who spoke next, dwelt on the ‘P‘s crucial to the industry – piracy, popularisation of music and pop music that has been ignored in the din of popular Bollywood music. “Radio is able to deliver more music to listeners than TV can,” he pointed out, saying that radio would soon take up more initiatives to find fresh talent.

Makkar, in his address, said that while physical sales are declining, the coming up of new formats like digitized music would help the industry.

One of the major reasons of the fate of music in India being questioned is the pattern of consumption, he pointed out. People are more keen on ownership of carriers and the technology of delivering the music than the content itself, he said.

Salim Merchant averred that while there is a vibrant film industry, there is no ‘music industry‘. His contention was that the music today is dependent on the film industry so much so that it does not have its individuality. He focused on the lack of encouragement for indi-pop albums today and how a music composer gets restricted with the certain film briefs. “The problem also lies in” he continued, “the budding talent which is unwilling to learn physical music.Everyone wants to switch to softwares available on their laptops.”

The Merchant brothers now look forward to setting up a music school which would educate talent in music.

UFO Moviez CEO Rajesh Mishra pointed out while moderating the session ‘Importance of Digital Cinema in India‘ on the second day at FICCI Frames 2008.

A number of major Hollywood studios have joined hands and formed the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) body that has come up with standard formats for digital cinema content. India‘s economy is however, not yet ready to fully adopt the DCI norms for digital cinema.

According to Real Image director Senthil Kumar the biggest problem is piracy as the high quality of projections makes it easy to record using camcorders and pirate the movie.

Don Savant from IMAX who introduced the audience with the successes of IMAX at the digital cinema front stated that the major collections by the hit movies around the world came from the digital cinema.

Animation movies like Beowulf and live action VFX movies like Harry Potter and Spiderman recorded a major part of their box office collections through digital theatres around the world.

Ad Labs COO Patrick vons Sychowski said that “technical diversity” arise due to the differences in formats of the various digital cinema platforms across the country. The filmmakers have to get their films converted in all of the formats for their film to get released in all the digital theatres which increases the cost and discourages the industry to adopt digital cinema. He appealed to the industry to work together for establishment of digital cinema as a standard.

Speakers observed that digital cinema system cuts down the cost of releasing actual celluloid prints and also ensures release throughout the network at the same time cutting down the incentives of piracy. Also, the systems are not very bulky making it easy for exhibitors to adapt this new system.

The major advantage of digital cinemas will be to the animation industry. The content produced is mainly in the digital format. To release in India cinemas, they have to release physical prints. The evolution of digital cinema will cut down this step saving a lot of the producer‘s money which indeed can be used for improvement of the project.

A major challenge of digital cinema in India is the conversion cost. However, Tony Adamson from DLP Cinema Equipments presented some really encouraging facts about digital cinema like the running cost of a digital cinema theatre is much less than the existing system. Availability of alternate content like operas, sports events, news, programming for kids, classic movies etc also adds to the advantages of digital cinema. According to Adamson, half the screens around the world are likely to go digital by 2013.

Makrand Karanjikar from UFO Moviez explained how reliable delivery of content, short cycle of exhibition and high level of security are some of the key attributes of digital cinema. He concluded with his statement, “Let the market make the call for digital cinemas”.

MUMBAI: Is media socially responsible? What are the constituents of social responsibility? Does free speech entails any social responsibility on the part of the speaker? These are some of the questions that were asked in the session entitled “Is media socially responsible: Where does freedom of speech and expression ends, and responsibility begin?”

Media personality Pritish Nandy, who moderated the session, clearly maintained that “media has nothing to do with social responsibility,” adding that “freedom is an absolute concept – there‘s either complete freedom with no restrictions or total bondage.”

Social responsibility is thrust upon the filmmakers by the government. The govt collects taxes from cigarette manufacturers, yet it wants us to stop showing smoking on the screen. The govt makes choices, but most of these choices are hypocritical.

In our age, free media is the most reliable vehicle for discovering truths. Bereft of this freedom, media is powerless. The state is not our father or guardian, as filmmakers we are free to do what we want to.

He ended, however, on a more tolerant note by saying, “But freedom is an ongoing dialogue, and that‘s why we‘ve to listen to others.”

In her speech, veteran actress and chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) Sharmila Tagore discussed the role of the CBFC vis-?-vis films.

“India is a multicultural, multilingual and multireligious country. The Constitution guarantees freedom of speech but since society is media dominated the govt is required to purge films of anything that might affect the larger social and cultural unity. This doesn‘t mean, however, that the CBFC intends to stifle creativity.”

To bolster her point of view, she said that a great number of movies are full of disturbing images that have a detrimental effect both on the conscious and on the subconscious psyche, and invited the audience to a screening of those movies that the censor board does not certify.

“Our responsibility also lies with the marginalised remnants of the society. CBFC acts as an enabling body between producers and audience. Moreover, I don‘t think India is ready for self-regulation; I disagree with Pritish on this point.”

Taking issue with Nandy‘s advocacy of absolute freedom, noted filmmaker and Rajya Sabha member Shyam Benegal said, “The censor board is a ‘negative institution‘ – it dictates what you are required to remove. A number of factors act as deterrents when it comes to making a good film. A CBFC certified film can be shown to anywhere in the country.

He then gave the example of Aaja Nachle, which, despite having a certificate from the censor board, was subjected to much social ado. This incident, according to Benegal, proves that a certificate from the board has lost its meaning.

Director Mahesh Bhatt said, “The bedrock of the media and entertainment industry is going away. My first film was banned. When I was 50, the NDA govt banned my film Zakhm. But ironically, when the censored version was released later, the film got a national integration award.”

He called the present state of affairs “freedom within the prison” and called for 100 per cent artistic liberty.

Reliance Entertainment chairman Amit Khanna said, “Instead of absolute freedom, what we have is absolute anarchy. There‘s anarchy everywhere in govt regulations.”

“Social responsibilities come from within. To initiate a healthy dialogue with the people, we need to educate them and dispense with the I&B ministry that imposes restrictions on the media.”

Admitting that the media itself has got into “the business of manufacturing news,” he maintained, “Frame a law that‘s conducive for a country like India.”

The panelist discussed the compelling need to ink international co production deals citing the demand for global films. A formal treaty, however, looks difficult at the moment.

India is a new entrant among the existing players like Italy, Germany and Switzerland, who have already signed co production deals with many countries.

The first co production deal that India did was in 1985 with France, which included import and export of films produced in both countries.

Currently India is locked in international co-production deals with UK, Italy, Germany and Brazil.

Countries like Hungary, Spain, China, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand are in the process of making it to the India list.

Ministry of Information and broadcasting director Sangeeta Singh says, “At the moment we do not offer any direct financial incentives to the filmmakers, but we have a very vibrant industry which is full of opportunities and will help the filmmakers grow.”

“India does not offer any subsidies to the international producer, unlike UK which offers 20 per cent subsidy. However individual states can do that,” added Singh.

In such cases international producers informally tie up with local producers to make a film.

American Icing Sherley is an example, as pointed out by the US-based American Pride Films Group president and director of the film Namrata Sing: “Sometimes due to the lack of funding and of political support, we go for such deals. My film will be distributed by iDreams in India.”

“But creativity and good content rules, no matter whether the deals happen or not. A good comedy or a drama or an action film will be appreciated beyond boundaries,” maintained Namrata Singh.

The panelists agreed that sometimes to work out a deal, the film has local actors from the countries involved in the treaty. That helps to market the film in both the countries as well internationally.

Tandoori Love, one such film is an example of that. The film has Indian actors in it but has been co-produced by Switzerland, Germany and Austria based producers.

Switzerland based filmmaker Oliver Paulus says: “Although we have shot some scenes in India, but we never found a producer to co-produce our film from here.”

“Co-production deals always turn out to be beneficial if done between countries with similar political and economic conditions,” said Department of Canadian heritage director Gordon Platt.

Platt adds that such deals are improvement tools for the existing film industry in a country.

“It gives a chance to share your resources and creativity to create a bigger product which can be made known worldwide with right mix of marketing,” Platt adds

Carlo Donzella, Italy‘s consultant for EU and International Affairs says: “We need to build up a regulation for incentives which can be offered to the co producers. All of us need to work out a scheme for financing flexibility.”

MUMBAI: As mobile and online media grow in India, broadcasters have a triple play opportunity to explore the three screens: broadcast, net and mobile. TV channels can create online and mobile communities around shows.

This was a key point that came up in a session on “Online Media Platforms: Creating an audience of one and a billion.”

“NDTV Convergence, which looks after the new media space, will grow in three years to become a top priority business. While TV will not shut down it is important that broadcasters embrace the net and mobile. These are already mainstream media. Broadcasters have a strategic advantage to use the three screen method to enhance brand value among viewers,” said NDTV Networks CEO Vikram Chandra.

The net and mobile allows broadcasters to build communities around TV shows and campaigns. Elaborating on this, Chandra offered the examples of ‘Save The Tiger‘ and Jessica Lal where the broadcaster used the mobile and the net to galvanise people.

Petitions were signed and SMS‘ expressing support were sent. “This way a channel can migrate its audience from the TV onto the net and mobile and then back to the TV,” Chandra said.

Chandra also cited the show Gadget Guru where the net has been very useful in building up viewer affinity. He predicts that there will be a “secular rise” in spending on new media. That is why NDTV a few months back launched a Wap portal. In course of time, the revenue that content providers get will grow.

MSN is talking with Indian companies to get them on board. Globally, MSN Video has 500 content partners like NBC and Fox.

“MSN Video gets two billion streams a year globally all of which are monetized. It offers content providers the chance to express their editorial voice. So for the Oscars, for instance, in addition to actual footage there will also be some behind the scenes content, the fashion on display etc. We have grown our business by 1000 per cent by looking at the whole story. While there is a lean back audience, the trendsetters want content when it is convenient. That is what we offer. The net offers a vast distribution network and one can narrowcast. As a content provider you know who the consumers are and what they want. As a consumer you have control in terms of content access,” said Vij.

Speaking about web 2.0 Infoedge Media founder and CEO Sanjeev Bikchandani said that it uses more intelligence like algorithms and collective intelligence. “This has allowed for democratisation of production tools. But while some web 2.0 companies like Bebo were successful, they eventually became a part of a large online media enterprise.”

Revenue is a challenge, though. Some like MySpace are able to generate $100 million in revenue while others aren‘t so lucky. Online advertising is shifting towards search marketing. “Google has monetised this. Technology has to evolve in order to make the net a reality on the mobile. At the moment the mobile is mainly good for email. In India broadband prese3nts a major challenge for the development of web 2.0. In addition Indians are not used to putting videos of themselves,” said Bikchandani.

BigFlicks COO Kamal Giachandani laid emphasis on the long tail effect that online media platforms offer. He offered the example of Netflix, saying that 30 per cent of its sales happen from DVDs that are not available offline. So the net has the advantage of giving a bigger choice compared to traditional outlets. At the same time one must remember that the audience is loyal to content as opposed to the platform. As broadband penetration grows in India, it is the niche content creators who will benefit the most.

Canada‘s Now Public co-founder and CEO Leonard Brody spoke about the importance of citizen journalism. “What we have noticed is that people do it for social engagement. We get two million readers a month and 700 pieces of content a day. Consumers are moving towards a higher personal locality. One reason why Facebook news feeds are checked out more by users than traditional news sources is that you get information that is personally relevant.”

The site uses the crowd source model and gives complete editorial control to users. Since they use citizen journalists, often they get videos in places where other agencies have not been able to go. Brody says that the agency has 140,000 reporters, out of which 10,000 are active daily.

“The newspaper business is dying abroad. Newspapers will have to focus more on analysis as opposed to breaking news as it would already be known,” said Brody.