Music channels take the road not taken before

Recently, a popular music channel announced a complete overhaul of their content. They will be rebranding themselves with fictional youth based shows with little or no music. With music not finding exclusive slots on popular channels and being replaced and refurbished with other entertainment content related to Bollywood gossip, music channels are becoming a mix bag.
Bollywood already being the ruling force of all music content on the small screen, and now with slots shrinking even further, one wonders how much space would non-film music find on national entertainment television.
So what is the reason behind music channels going for a mix of everything? Is the audience not interested in Bollywood songs or has internet and other sources of music taken a toll? Prem Kamath, executive vice president and general manager of a leading music channel cites monotony and presence of similar music content on other channels as primary reason behind the shift of content. He says, “There are 18 other channels that play similar musical content. So there is no point in offering the same to our audience. Besides, there are few channels that show completely youth centric shows. We are a youth channel and not a music channel, and now with the revamp, we will be the first ever channel to be completely dedicated to youth.”
Even though there is monotony and repetitiveness of content, Bollywood music seems to be the only genre present on music television. Neeraj Vyas, EVP business head of a music channel feels that revamping is not a developing trend and that it might only be restricted to one particular channel. He says, “There is a lot to be done in the field of music. As a music channel, we are completely dedicated to music and over a period of time our viewership has only increased, which means that there is a demand for music. If other forms of music are to be popularized then they will have to be presented in a way that are cost effective for the channel and interesting for the audience.”
Few others have also welcomed the move of changing to reality and fiction based content, those who have been benefited from it in the past. K Mohan of Agnee, whose song Aahatein shot to fame through Splitsvilla is in favour of the move. He says, “You should either be able to change the system, or move with it and make full use of the opportunities it provides. Giving music in a reality show that will go on for 13 weeks is always better than releasing a single that will be off air in few days. And with more such programmes coming up, it will give more musicians a chance to reach their audience.”
And few other channels feel music will never fade out of music channels. Amar Tidke, Sr. VP and head of content of a leading music channel says, “There are dedicated channels for various genres in regional music that provide folk music content. These days the audience is so fragmented that channels have to clearly define what they stand for and whom they want to cater to. Inspite of that, the number of music channels have gone up in the last few years. Every channel has its own hook with few going for humour as fillers and others going for Bollywood news as a support act. You have to be on the toes and keep your content unique and offer something new to your target audience.”
As competition for eyeballs heats up, music channels too, gear up to win the battle of eyeballs in their own way.