Pocket FM earmarks Rs 250 cr fund for writers contributing to platform

New Delhi: Audio entertainment app Pocket FM on Thursday said it has set aside Rs 250 crore for writers who will contribute to its platform in 2024.

The company said that the top 10 writers on its platform were able to earn over Rs 2 crore during the current year.

Pocket FM Cofounder and CEO Rohan Nayak said that the audio series as a category has been instrumental for writers, enabling them to share their stories with millions across the world.

"Thousands of writers are joining our community every day, inspired by the success stories of existing writers, turning us into a launchpad for storytellers through audio series.

"To support and reward our writers, we have set aside a Writers' Fund of Rs 250 crore for the writers community, ensuring they stay financially motivated in their creative journey," Nayak said in a statement.

It has doubled its audio series catalogue to end the year with over 2,000 titles, the company said.

It added that "17 audio series surpassed 100 million plays, while 40 titles exceeded 50 million plays. In terms of revenue, 13 audio series surpassed the Rs 10 crore mark, and 25 series achieved Rs 5 crore in collections. Insta Millionaire turned out to be a mega-blockbuster with Rs 100 crore revenue collections." Pocket FM said that it has exceeded 75 billion minutes of streaming, with an average monthly streaming of over 6 billion minutes.

The listener community has crossed 130 million across the globe. It has registered over 20 million transactions in 2023, closing the year with 2.5 million monthly transactions, the statement said.

"In 2023, the top genres were Drama, Romance, and Sci-Fi & Fantasy. Males showed a preference for Drama series, while females exhibited a greater interest in Romance. Surprisingly, both genders demonstrated equal excitement for Sci-Fi and Fantasy series consumption," it said.

Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru turned out to be the most active cities for Pocket FM, with over 5 billion minutes being streamed here.

Emerging cities like Jaipur, Lucknow, Surat, and Pune also ranked in Pocket FM's Top 10 Indian cities for 2023, it said.