Guvera launches radio app

Fast-growing Australian streaming service Guvera has extended its product offering with a radio broadcast app.

Launched yesterday at SXSW, Fradio allows users to broadcast personal, curated radio shows live from their phone.

 Using Guvera’s licensed catalogue of over 12 million tracks, users can listen and interact with the broadcaster on air through live talk-back, comments and track requests in real-time.

The app was developed over the past 12 months by Guvera in-house. While the market’s majoy players all have radio-based applications to their platforms, Damien King, CTO at Guvera told TMN that Fradio has always part of Guvera’s long term strategy to introduce new products to the market.

“Fradio is unique as it lets listeners have real-time, close up access and interaction with artists, as well as with their friends and other broadcasters. This experience is different to what is on the market currently; Fradio has evolved the traditional model of radio, combining music streaming with the ability to broadcast,” King told TMN.

The free app is currently available in Australia and the US, however Guvera plans to spread its use wider. Guvera’s ad-funded freemium and on-demand premium models are available in 20 countries worldwide.

Over the next four days at SXSW, Fradio will be broadcasting live from a custom-built radio booth at the IHEARTCOMIX’s Austin Party Weekend. Users can request tracks from the artists appearing as part of the APW 2015 line up, which includes Steve Aoki, A-Trak, Crookers and Australian acts Remi and Hermitude. After that, Guvera plans to introduce more real-time, interactive initiatives for its users.

The new app follows Guvera’s purchase of UK music, video and ebook platform blinkbox Music from Tesco and its expansion into India, in a deal with 7Digital. In under 18 months Guvera has launched across 16 countries and five continents including UAE, USA, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, The Philippines, Indonesia and Venezuela.

In January this year Guvera’s global chief operating officer Michael de Vere said he has plans to expand Guvera into 20 new markets by June and become available in 100 markets by the end of the year.

Fradio is available for download now in both the App Store and Google Play.