The US is ready to pay for NSFW Hindi audio content, but India isn’t

When you think of the average unicorn-status startup, PocketFM — a homegrown audio streaming platform — is somewhat of an anomaly. Its main claim to fame? Very dramatic, borderline NSFW Hindi fiction audio series’. 

Its content can best be described as ‘masala’ entertainment. And yet, millions of listeners tune in every day to listen to stories like ‘I love you monster’, or ‘Karan Arjun reloaded’, or ‘Millionaire Ghar Jamaai’. While all this may not be your cup of tea, it has really worked for PocketFM. So much so that the company is now just inches away from a $1 billion valuation. 

Ever since it was launched in 2018, PocketFM has taken some pretty risky business decisions. Like in late 2021, when it decided to enter the US market. 

But even though most of its big, bold bets paid off overseas, there is one thing PocketFM has been struggling to do. And you’ll surprised to hear this: Despite such an enviable user base, and investors buzzing around it, in India, PocketFM is struggling to get users to actually pay for its content.

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