How this Entrepreneur is Disrupting the Audio Broadcast Space Amit wants to make audio entertainment popular with his podcast network

Podcasts are still not popular like television and radio because of the lack of interest of people.

Knowing your target audience is important as the more you know who all your target audiences are, the more listeners you can gain. Besides, content also plays a key role because it helps you increase your popularity and build your brand.

In India, very few podcast channels have gained traction so far because very few people are aware of its existence here. A podcast is basically an episodic series of digital audio files, which a user can download and listen to whenever he or she wishes to.

Amit Doshi, CEO, Indus Vox Media wants to leapfrog radio and disrupt the ignored space of audio entertainment with his podcast network.

Started in 2015, Indus Vox Media creates and provides quirky and urban audio content in varied genres to thousands of listeners every day. There are podcasts in genres ranging from comedy to sports, economics to culture, fashion and even music, creating a gamut of qualitative and quantitative content in the industry. Their shows such as Cyrus Says, Cricketwalla Chronicles, Maed in India and Eat Sleep Joke Repeat are immensely popular.

"Our Idea Is To Leapfrog Radio As We Don't Have Talk Radios In India'

The fact that talk radio shows are not popular enough in India prompted Doshi to start a podcast network here. But they are very popular in the West.

"The fact that mobile penetration is increasing and people are consuming data much more than they used earlier is actually proving beneficial to make podcast popular. Given the stringent government licensing rules, normal talk radio is not common here," Doshi explained.

"Undoubtedly India is the most challenging space to start a podcast because we don't have the habit of listening to talk radio," he said. Doshi doesn't consider any other podcast to be his competition in the Indian market.

"If you talk about pure play-talk-only platform, then probably we don't have any competitor. Audiomatic is there but they do some amount of common things. Other than that platforms like Saavn and Gaana are creating some audio shows," he added.

Making Podcast is Not a Child's Play

Amit said it's very easy for people to assume that anybody can make a podcast but it's not no-work. "But if you are looking to start a podcast then first figure out your schedule and make sure you hit the schedule," he said.

"Every episode will take your 8-10 hours of work. So, does that mean 8-10 hours a week or a month? Your schedule should be based on that figure. A lot of people don't take podcast seriously. They only make 1-2 episodes and forget about it. So consistency is the second most important thing. If you want to get a reasonable number of listeners, you have to become a habit. And you can become a habit by being available when somebody needs you," he stressed.

However, he also highlighted that the biggest problem with why podcast doesn't work is the regularity. People are not regular and careful about their subjects, which automatically don't drive traffic to their podcast channel.

'Stable Growth, But Still A Long Way To Go'

The podcast has been enjoying a stable growth with 4 million downloads in two years. Amit believes there is still a long way to go and the within a couple of years the company will reach where it wants to be.

"Given the fact that there is no culture in India for listening to talk radio or long form talks, I am very happy in terms of our growth rate and where we stand. " he concluded.