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Before the internet really exploded around 2000, our access to music was limited. It began at the record label level. Without a deal, getting distribution of your music was nearly impossible. Even if you did, your music was run through other filters: radio, music video channels, record stores and music magazines. The entire time, you competed with all the other new songs out there, along with older established favourites.Getting the public’s attention was hard. Getting them to part with their limited disposable income to buy your music was even harder.But because the initial supply was small and the winnowing process so stringent, rewards awaited the lucky few who came out the other side of the star-making machinery system. We lived in a monoculture, driven largely by radio airplay. In tho...

In May, after Operation Sindoor, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting had issued an advisory directing Indian OTT platforms to remove all streaming content originating from Pakistan (This link is broken, May 9). As a result, Zee5 had pulled the plug on its Pakistani shows and Indo-Pak collaborative productions. Five months on, some of those acclaimed shows have found a new home in the Middle East. Executives based in Dubai tell mid-day that several Indo-Pak joint productions, which were formerly housed under Zee Entertainment’s cross-border entertainment vertical Zindagi, have now been acquired by Begin. Watch.  Launched in 2022, Begin.Watch is a Pakistan-based streaming platform. In recent months, it not only expanded its presence in the Middle East, but also secured rights to ...

Janhvi Kapoor’s take on cheating in relationships during her recent appearance on Two Much with Twinkle Khanna and Kajol has won over the internet. Joining Karan Johar as a guest on the chat show, Janhvi’s candid and firm views during a game segment sparked widespread discussion online. Karan, Twinkle, Kajol defend physical cheating During a round of This or That, the guests were asked to choose between emotional and physical infidelity — which one they believed was more damaging. While Karan, Twinkle, and Kajol agreed that physical infidelity could be overlooked, Janhvi was visibly shocked by their stance. “She hasn’t seen what we’ve seen,” Twinkle remarked as Janhvi stood her ground. Confused, Janhvi asked, “But both of them are bad! How can one be worse than the other?” Karan shared...