Radio City launches 'Freedom Radio' to celebrate 11th anniversary

The content of the internet radio channel will be based on the performance of independent bands and artists, who are not known in the industry. The channel will not be commercialised for the first few months.

Radio City 91.1FM has launched its new offering, Freedom Radio, an internet radio channel with the tagline, 'Naye Daur Ki Nayee Dhun'. The channel will play only Indie music on the newly added independent stream, 'Freedom Radio'.

It will showcase independent artists from across genres like dub-step, electronica, folk, rock and sufi in diverse languages such as Assamese, Malayalam, Bengali and Punjabi, apart from Hindi and English. Freedom Radio plans to pose as a platform to support independent bands and artists.

To announce the launch of the internet radio channel on completion of the eleventh operational year of Radio City, the station brought in five bands across five towns to perform simultaneously on radio. The initiative, called Freedom Hour, lasted from 10 am to 11 am on July 3.

Freedom Hour aired live performances by bands including Aks, Highway 61, Tatva, Pratigya, Dedh Inch Upar and singers such as Kavita Seth, Akashdeep Gogoi, Javed Bashir and Mahesh Vinayakram.

The anthem for Radio City and Freedom Radio, 'Hum Sab Hai Yahaan', was also launched at the event.

In an official communiqué, Apurva Purohit, chief executive officer, Radio City, says, "As thought leaders, we had to give something really refreshing and new to the audience which has supported us for 11 years. On the occasion of our 11th anniversary, we at Radio City give the Indie artists a dedicated platform by launching Freedom Radio on Planetradiocity.com. This web radio stream is a dedicated channel that offers original Indie music to Indians across the globe. We hope the young audiences who are on the lookout for fresh sound find our offering satiating their need."

Though the channel will have its own separate content, the content may be shared by the mainstream radio channel, Radio City, if any particular song or track gets enough popularity.

Rachna Kanwar, senior vice-president and business head, digital media and new business, Radio City, says, "Freedom Radio symbolises freedom of choice; to be able to listen to various genres and to go beyond film music. In our journey to take Freedom Radio to our listeners, we have associated with some of the most talented Indian artists across the globe."

The web radio channel hosts about 300 bands in all. The channel also has genre scheduling and a few months down the line, listeners will also be able to request a particular genre.

For promotions, the channel is banking on its 20-city network through Radio City. There will be on-ground events and other live concerts organised for the promotions. The station has also associated with Kailash Kher, Mohit Chauhan, Lucky Ali and Swaratma, the band. These artists were independent performers in the initial stages of their careers.