Digital

Dot Music domain for musicians and music industry sees global launch

Published

1 year ago

October 9, 2024

MUMBAI: For musicians the world over – both independent and managed – this should come as a breath of fresh air. The .music registry yesterday announced the global launch of the community-based .music top-level domain extension and its verified musicID.

Members involved in any form of music can now register their .music urls on a first come, first serve basis. Designed to provide verified digital identities for music artists, creators, songwriters, industry professionals, organizations and brands, .music will provide a trusted, vetted and secure digital space and safe haven for legal music consumption.

The registration and use of .music is exclusive to verified members of the global music community, enabling them to protect, control and oversee their music identities across the internet. In a time of increasing concern about non-consensual AI deepfakes, voice cloning, and the unauthorised use of the music community’s intellectual property, .music offers a credible solution to these challenging problems.

The .music domain fosters a more trustworthy and transparent global music ecosystem by helping fans and platforms easily identify music (or content) created by real, authenticated humans and music (or content) entirely generated by unaccountable AI or bots, says a press release issued by the registry.

“For the first time in music history, the global music industry will be able to register their unique .music name and verified digital music identity. The .music domain and its connected MusicID will provide a trusted, secure, and authentic music-centric Internet where the global music community can safely connect, engage, transact and thrive,” says the founder & CEO of .music Constantine Roussos, a Greek-Cypriot by birth. .

“The .music launch marks a pivotal moment for the music industry to reclaim control of their digital footprint. By offering verified musicIDs, we are giving the global music community the ability to secure their digital identity, protect their creative works, and ensure that their presence online is authentic and safeguarded from impersonation, fraud, and AI misuse,” says id.music executive director Marina Roussou, the exclusive music identity provider for .music.

The introduction of .music has got the entire music world excited and supportive of the initiative. A host of global association heads has come out in praise of its launch.

“As a domain for the global music community, available only to verified artists, companies and organisations active in the music ecosystem, .music will be a valuable tool, strengthening trust and assuring authenticity. IFPI have been longstanding supporters of this initiative,” says International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) CEO Victoria Oakley.

“The launch of .music verified digital identities is an important step forward in the effort to deliver a safe, trustworthy space for artists, fans, and the global music community. Congratulations to the entire .music team!” says Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier, who represents labels that collectively create 90 per cent of recorded music sold in the US.

“We are pleased to see the launch of .music, a project that we believe will strengthen the global music community by creating a new level of trust, connection and reliability between all the players involved and, most importantly, with music consumers. Cisac has been a longstanding supporter of the .music initiative and we are delighted to see this ambitious project reaching the finishing line and coming to fruition,” says director general of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (Cisac) Gadi Oron, the world’s largest network in the creative sector with 227 societies in 116 countries.

“On behalf of the International Music Council, I extend our warmest congratulations on the occasion of .music going live on 8 October. We celebrate this monumental achievement aimed at offering dependable and secure digital domains for music globally. This is perfectly in line with the five music rights and we are delighted to be part of it,” says International Music Council (IMC) president Sheila C. Woodward, the world’s largest network of music organisations and institutions in 150 countries with direct access to over 1,000 organizations and 600 million through its members.

“Today’s music industry is global and digitised. ICMP is pleased to partner .music. The newly launched .music online domain name provides a global gateway for music creators and businesses around the world,” says the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) director general John Phelan.

“The .music domain is launching at a vital time for the music industry. The NMPA applauds this ambitious initiative and the protections it offers creators who face evolving threats to authenticity from AI,” says National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) president & CEO David Israelite.

“With the music industry currently at a pivotal moment in time when it comes to protecting human creation in the face of AI and other disruptive technologies, the launch of the .music domain is another welcome tool that will help ensure authenticity and trust between artists, businesses and consumers alike. IMPF has been an active supporter of the community-based .music top-level domain for over a decade, so we’re incredibly aware of and grateful for the hard work that has got us to this point,” says counsel to the board of directors of the Independent Music Publishers International Forum (IMPF) Ger Hatton.

“.music places security, respect for rights, and innovation at the heart of its approach. The FIM is proud to have contributed to the success of this project through its continuous support. Beyond a mere domain name, .music offers a high value-added service to professional musicians,” says the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) general secretary Benoît Machuel, representing musicians’ trade unions, guilds and associations worldwide.

“The Recording Academy is thrilled to continue our support of the .MUSIC initiative, especially during a time of such immense evolution of our industry where it has never been more important to protect human creativity. From its inception, the project has sought to provide a safe and reliable digital domain for music creators, and it will foster more trust and security for our entire music ecosystem,” says Recording Academy/Grammy CEO Harvey Mason Jr.

“A2IM has supported the .MUSIC initiative from the outset, and we’re thrilled to see it become a reality. This domain fosters trust, connection, and reliability within the global music community. It will create a safe, innovative ecosystem that benefits artists, labels, and music consumers alike, fulfilling our shared vision for a stronger, more unified industry,” says American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) president & CEO Richard James Burgess, representing the collective voice of independent music.

“Impala’s aims include effectively tackling infringement and giving music consumers the best digital infrastructure based on trust and security. A community run .music system with commitments prevailed with support from Impala and others in the sector. It’s great that the .music domains are now available and will be administered in a way that achieves our mutual objectives and creates a safe and innovative ecosystem. This is part of our mission of growing the independent music sector in Europe,” says Independent Music Companies Association (Impala) executive chair Helen Smith), representing prominent independent music companies and national trade associations in Europe.

“The International Music Managers Forum (IMMF) and Music Managers Forum – US (MMF-US) congratulate .music on their launch. This development offers artists and their teams access to a new top-level domain name extension and opportunities to verify digital identities as AI and deep fakes escalate the long-standing issues of trust and veracity online. Representing artists and managers worldwide, IMMF and MMF-US are always interested in connecting our communities with innovation and tools to build a more trustworthy online ecosystem for artists and fans,” says International Music Managers Forum (IMMF) and Music Managers Forum – US (MMF-US) president Neeta Ragoowansi, representing national and regional associations of self-managed artists and managers from over 50 countries.

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Digital

Bartronics India unveils AI-powered voice app to scale agritech platform

Published

4 weeks ago

February 6, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

HYDERABAD: Bartronics India Limited is stepping up its agritech ambitions with plans to launch a voice-first, multilingual AI-powered application in March, following a successful pilot across Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

The pilot phase saw strong engagement from farmers, supported by assured produce off-take through partnerships with SNN and Origo Commodities. Drawing on on-ground feedback, the company is now upgrading the platform to enable deeper interaction, data-driven intelligence and scalable adoption across rural markets.

At the heart of the revamp is AI-enabled voice interaction in major regional languages, including English, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu and Kannada. The voice recognition and conversational agent framework is being developed by Ampivo Smart Technologies, aimed at transforming the app into an intuitive digital assistant for farmers.

Once launched, the platform will offer voice navigation, real-time alerts, contextual advisories, educational tools and interactive knowledge support, designed to improve decision-making across the agricultural value chain.

The application will also capture consent-led farmer data to connect users with electronic mandis and wider marketplaces, while enabling participation in sustainability-linked initiatives such as carbon credit programmes.

Bartronics India managing director Vidhya Sagar Reddy, said the voice-first approach reflects how rural communities naturally engage with technology and forms the foundation of a broader rural intelligence layer under Project Avio Agritech. The company aims to onboard 20 million farmers over the next three years.

Bartronics India currently operates across nearly 5,000 villages, delivering last-mile banking and digital financial services, and is expanding into integrated agritech and agri-trade solutions through its Project Avio platform.

Digital

Messi magic kicks off in India as immersive football experience lands

Published

4 weeks ago

February 5, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When football dreams need a passport, Lionel Messi is ready to stamp it. The Messi Experience – A Dream Come True, the internationally touring immersive exhibition dedicated to one of sport’s most influential figures, is heading to India this March as part of its 2026 world tour. After successful runs across Buenos Aires, Puerto Rico, Panama, Beijing, Chicago, Mexico City, Miami, Los Angeles and São Paulo, the exhibition will make its India debut in Mumbai on March 20, 2026, before moving to Bengaluru from June 19, 2026. The shows will be staged at Century Mills in Lower Parel, Mumbai, and Bhartiya City Mall in Bengaluru.

Produced and promoted by Bookmyshow Live, the experience promises to pull fans inside Messi’s journey, not just his match highlights. “I am thrilled to see this project come to life and bring fans even closer to me both on and off the field,” Messi said, adding that the exhibition would allow Indian fans to relive the most unforgettable moments of his career.

Designed as a 75-minute, multi-sensory walkthrough, the exhibition unfolds across nine themed zones, blending artificial intelligence, immersive environments and exclusive content. Visitors can train like Messi, step into recreated match moments and explore personal stories that shaped his rise from his early days in Rosario to lifting the World Cup trophy in Qatar.

Bookmyshow chief business officer for live events Naman Pugalia said the India debut marks a milestone for football fandom in the country. He described Messi as a global cultural icon whose story transcends sport, adding that the exhibition reflects the company’s ambition to bring world-class immersive entertainment to Indian audiences.

Beyond the storytelling, the experience also features an official merchandise store and an activation zone, extending engagement beyond the exhibition halls. Whether for lifelong fans or first-time followers, The Messi Experience aims to turn football history into a walk-in memory, one that lets India play along with a living legend.

Digital

Work stress tops India’s mental health talk, not heartbreak or headlines

Published

4 weeks ago

February 5, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When India opens up about mental health, the conversation keeps clocking in at work. A new conversation analysis by Consuma, an AI-native consumer insights platform, shows that workplace pressures are the most frequently discussed trigger in online conversations around mental health awareness in India. The study analysed 136,695 public conversations across Twitter, Reddit, Youtube and Instagram between January 1 and December 31, 2025. Within a focused subset of 20,272 conversations that explicitly discussed what triggers mental health awareness, nearly half 49.72 per cent pointed to work-related stressors, making employment the single largest trigger category online.

The findings echo concerns flagged at the policy level. India’s Economic Survey 2024–25 has already warned that hostile work environments and long working hours can hurt mental wellbeing and productivity. Online conversations suggest employees are feeling the strain long before policy catches up.

Among work-related triggers, poor work–life balance dominates the discussion at 24.37 per cent, followed by general workplace stress at 21.85 per cent and toxic work culture at 15.90 per cent. Long working hours account for 9.57 per cent of mentions, while job insecurity features in 7.50 per cent.

The numbers are backed by sharp, candid commentary. One user writes, “Most Indian employers overcomplicate employee wellness. Let people work async. Let them go for a run in the afternoon. Let them sleep in when their body needs it.”

Consuma notes that these findings apply only to conversations that explicitly discuss triggers for mental health awareness, not the entire universe of mental health discussions online.

The data shows that mental health discourse in India is overwhelmingly driven by adults in their prime working years. People aged 25–34 contribute 50.51 per cent of conversations, while those aged 35–44 account for 34.35 per cent. Together, they represent 84.86 per cent of the discussion.

Work stress, however, is not acting alone. Societal and educational pressures make up 33.98 per cent of trigger conversations, including societal expectations (14.42 per cent), academic pressure (13.92 per cent) and parental pressure (6.09 per cent). One widely echoed sentiment reads, “Indian parents will raise you with a roof over your head, food in your stomach, and shame in your soul.”

Taken together, the data points to a compounding “pressure stack” faced by working-age Indians balancing career demands alongside cultural expectations, education-linked anxiety and family pressure, all while chasing conventional life milestones.

Interestingly, the conversation is not limited to venting. Of the 26,311 conversations analysed for broader mental health themes, discussion is almost evenly split between core challenges (48.05 per cent) and solutions or support systems (43.81 per cent).

Mental health crises dominate the challenge cluster at 32.58 per cent, followed by stigma and lack of awareness at 20.27 per cent. On the solutions side, people lean towards culturally familiar, self-directed approaches rather than institutional pathways. Holistic practices such as music therapy and spiritual wisdom account for 17.34 per cent, practical stress management for 13.72 per cent, celebrity-led awareness for 7.64 per cent and government initiatives for 6.51 per cent.

The shift suggests that people are not only asking “what’s wrong?” but increasingly “what can I do?”even if the answers remain personal and decentralised.

Consuma’s analysis also zooms in on women’s health conversations, where mental wellbeing outweighs physical health topics. Among 1,934 women’s health conversations analysed, mental health accounts for 51.14 per cent, surpassing reproductive and gynaecological health at 37.07 per cent.

Younger adults dominate this space, with 18–44-year-olds contributing over 81 per cent of the discussion. In women’s health awareness triggers (3,489 conversations), societal factors lead at 45.2 per cent, closely followed by mental health drivers at 41.7 per cent.

Healthcare-related challenges appear less frequently at 7.4 per cent, but the tone is striking. Misdiagnosis and medical gaslighting recur as trust-breaking themes. One user notes: “Going to doctors is useless in India as a woman. First, they tell you to lose weight… Then they tell you that you are imagining it or that you are sensitive.”

The report was generated using Consuma’s AI-powered Rapid Research Platform. The dataset was cleaned for noise and duplicates and classified using a multi-coding methodology. Source-wise, the conversations came from Youtube (77,544), Twitter (41,121), Reddit (9,283) and Instagram (8,747).

In a digital space often crowded with noise, the findings paint a consistent picture, for India’s online audience, mental health conversations begin not in therapy rooms or hospitals, but at the workplace and the clock is still ticking.