'Evangelising cultural spaces': About Red FM’s South Side Story festival

Red FM’s cultural festival South Side Story returns for its seventh edition as the radio network, which operates 73 stations across India, continues to explore non-traditional revenue streams amid challenges facing traditional broadcasting models.

Scheduled for 30th and 31st August 2025 at KD Jadhav Wrestling Stadium in Delhi, this year’s edition is going to be a comprehensive two-day cultural celebration featuring an Onam special twist that encompasses music, food, art, literature, and immersive experiences.

“South Side Story largely is about celebrating cultural identity as Red FM, which focuses on inclusivity and diversity,” explains Nisha Narayanan, director and COO of Red FM and Magic FM.

“The idea is to bring regional flavours to the national front. It’s about building communities, not just a concert. It’s about evangelising cultural spaces and regional spaces through immersive experiences.”

Scaling up: From niche to mass appeal

The festival has grown from its initial audience of 1,000-1,500 people to approximately 12,000-15,000 attendees over two days, with 35-40% comprising non-South Indian audiences, according to network figures. The tickets to the event, as per the website, are priced between Rs 499 and Rs 3,499.

This year’s expanded format introduces several new dimensions. The network has partnered with Oxford Bookstore to incorporate literature, bringing South Indian authors into dialogue with book lovers.

Traditional Onam celebrations feature prominently through banana leaf dining experiences, while Padma Shri recipient actor and dancer Shobana Chandrakumar leads new dance element of the event.

“We consciously tried to extend it to art and literature this year,” Narayanan notes. “We feel that restricting it to music alone may not be enough when we’re celebrating culture.”

The artist lineup reflects this diversification strategy, featuring classical maestro T.M. Krishna alongside contemporary acts such as The Raghu Dixit Project, Sooraj Santhosh, Job Kurian, and rock band Avial. 

The programming emphasises fusion over pure classical forms, incorporating hip-hop and rap artists like Wild Wild Women and the 32-member percussion ensemble Aattam Kalasamithi.

Strategic diversification: Beyond traditional broadcasting

South Side Story represents one component of Red FM’s approach to address structural challenges in radio broadcasting. The festival is part of the network’s non-traditional revenue strategy, designed to supplement traditional advertising-driven models.

“Radio alone, because it’s largely a sponsorship-driven model or advertising-driven model, currently is not sustainable,” she explains. “Therefore, there is a huge focus on non-traditional revenue, because FCT [Free Commercial Time] alone is not going to give us business. We need to innovate.”

This approach extends across multiple business verticals, including events, digital platforms, influencer marketing, podcasts, site activations, and intellectual properties.

These diversified revenue streams target contributing 30% of Red FM’s overall revenue, as the radio industry remains what Narayanan describes as the smallest segment in India’s media and entertainment sector.

Cultural osmosis: National brand with local flavour

The festival embodies Red FM’s positioning as a “NatLocal” brand—nationally present but locally relevant. This strategy leverages the network’s extensive geographical footprint to facilitate cultural exchange across regions.

“It’s not about celebrating South Indian cultures within the South, or East cultures within the East,” Narayanan elaborates.

“It’s about allowing osmosis to happen, where East comes to South, and South comes to North. As mass media, who is protecting art and culture and local ethos? Radio is the medium able to celebrate local flavour.”

This cultural evangelism extends beyond entertainment into community building. The festival attracts demographically diverse audiences spanning age groups from months-old infants to elderly attendees, united by shared cultural curiosity rather than regional origins.

Marketing strategy: Targeted community engagement

Red FM’s marketing approach combines mass reach through its radio network with targeted digital campaigns designed for niche audiences. The strategy includes experiential marketing through “Southside Socials”—food experiences with partner restaurants such as Lakshmi Kanchi and Mahabali that extend engagement beyond the festival dates.

“Between radio, which is a mass medium, and digital, which can be more targeted marketing, we can reach out to the community,” Narayanan explains.

“It’s community-based targeting to niche audiences, so targeted marketing plans are extremely effective.”

Industry challenges and reform requirements

The broader radio industry faces significant structural challenges, with the sector oscillating around Rs 2,200 crores annually while struggling with measurement limitations and regulatory constraints.

Red FM, through the Association of Radio Broadcasters India (AROI), has petitioned the government for comprehensive reforms, including TRAI recommendations implementation and mobile radio accessibility.

“We want genuine data measurement systems and are open to digital radio in the country, provided there are reform packages for the industry so our P&Ls look better and we can invest in digital,” Narayanan says.

Future outlook: Content over platform

Despite technological disruption, Red FM maintains confidence in a content-driven strategy. “While technology changes by the minute, what really stands out is the right content,” Narayanan observes. “If you put the right content out there, regardless of platform, people will accept and receive you.”

The network anticipates digital radio implementation within five years, which would resolve currency, data, and transmission issues while enabling expanded functionality. However, survival requires platform agnosticism and digital presence.

“Radio cannot survive by being radio itself,” Narayanan says. “We will have to be on digital platforms. We will have to take our content out there.”