WorldSpace to stream music on MSN India

The satellite radio will make available five of its channels on MSN Radio for about $10 a month

WorldSpace satellite radio announced on Thursday that it will stream five of its music channels on MSN India. This partnership also marks the launch of MSN Radio in India. The music channels will be streamed 24 hours a day on the website and will cost $9.9 a month. WorldSpace is also offering a free day’s trial on the site. The channels available online are Farishta (Hindi film classics), Sparsha (Kannada), Spandana (Telugu), Gandharv (Hindustani classical) and Shruti (Carnatic).

This is the first online initiative of WorldSpace in India, where it has 1,70,000 subscribers. Says Velu Shankar, senior advisor, content and programming, WorldSpace India, “We believe that online music is the way to go. For niche music, the Internet is the best medium.” He also added that the mobile phone is another promising medium, especially for smaller towns. Commenting on the tie-up with MSN India, Shankar said, “The future of media lies in partnerships. With MSN, we as content creators can reach a larger audience.”

This is also MSN India’s first foray into online music, though it has been partnering with production houses to promote movies. Rajnish, head, digital marketing, Windows Live & MSN India, MSN, says that WorldSpace will remain MSN’s sole partner for the radio vertical, and that five more channels will be launched in a month.

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