Want to listen to SRK-Diplos Phurr? Pay for it
August 01, 2017 10:54Can't wait for Jab Harry Met Sejal's upcoming track 'Phurrr'?
To be the first one to listen to Pritam and Diplo's number featuring superstar Shah Rukh Khan and the gorgeous Anushka Sharma, listeners will have to pay.
In a landmark move, Sony Music India has taken what is potentially its biggest track this year and put it behind a limited-time paywall.
A sample video unit of the song will release on YouTube, along with the audio on August 3; however, the full song will release much later.
Shridhar Subramaniam, president, Sony Music Entertainment - India and Middle East, said, "The concept of 'everything-free' will change, or rather needs to change to an ecosystem where some things will be free and other things will be paid.
"The reason 'Phurrr' was chosen is because it is the biggest project of the year with an international collaboration so we felt that if we are taking this step then we must do it with a very big song. We needed a big project with a must-listen song that had so much anticipation."
He further added, "We're inserting a paid window in the music business, which didn't exist prior to this."
This means that any consumer/listener who wants to access the song first will now have to pay for the same. The stakeholders do seem to be supportive of the decision.
Shridhar says, "At the end of the day, it is the health of the music industry and the health of the platforms that are at stake and this decision directly benefits the health of the creators. They will definitely be in for this. Red Chillies, SRK and Pritam embraced this idea whole-heartedly."