The new feature allows people to listen to a 30-second preview of songs shared on Facebook. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: Digital music platform Patari has teamed up with Facebook for Music Stories, a new feature on the social media website that allows people to listen to a 30-second preview of a shared song. While Facebook launched the feature in late 2015, in collaboration with iTunes and Spotify, Patari has joined the small group of sites testing the product too.
Analytics maintain that the new feature has high retention rates for media that can be played within Facebook. Therefore, it marks a big development for the local streaming site. “This collaboration marks a watershed moment for the local music industry and especially for Patari. Our participation in this product is proof that it is possible to set up a sustainable platform for Pakistani music that can have a global reach,” said Patari CEO Khalid Bajwa, in a press release. “Patari is the only local platform to have partnered with Facebook and offer this feature. It is an honour for us, considering we started out only last year.”
Bajwa added that it is important to realise the significance of Music Stories. “We need to understand the tangible nature of this feature. It has a high retention rate for people and means we now have a bigger market.” Asked what it means for the Pakistani music industry, Bajwa stated, “I think it’s amazing that international companies such as Facebook and others are looking at Pakistan as a serious market now. That’s great news for local ventures and entrepreneurs. It’s a big development because a year ago, no one would have thought Pakistan could have a legal online music platform.”
Bajwa mentioned that Facebook approached them first and the process took eight long months to finalise. The Music Stories initiative marks yet another milestone for Patari, which is the first Pakistani digital media platform to pay royalties to the artists it features. Prior to this, Patari was also amongst Facebook’s first few partners for the global launch of the ‘Account Kit’ Product, which involved it being featured as one of the partners at Facebook’s Annual F8 event.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2016.
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