Analysis

Pocket FM and Kuku FM’s opposite paths to a sustainable business model

Soumya Gupta

August 17, 2022 | 12 Min Read

Kuku FM and Pocket FM agree on content strategy. What they don’t agree on is monetisation. The former believes in subscriptions, while the latter says micropayments and advertising are the way forward. At stake is the top spot in India’s burgeoning non-music audio streaming space.

Two crucial events happened in India’s audio streaming industry this year.

First, in February, Pocket FM quietly retired its subscription play. In its place came micropayments, allowing users to buy access to a single piece of content for as little as Rs 9. Parallely, after a pilot programme involving over 100 brands, it began rolling out ad solutions for companies.

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