He is the man, rather the voice, behind the popular programme, ‘Afternoon Farmaish’, on Power FM. And as Music Executive /Senior Announcer, India FM Radio, Kolkata, Sanjeev Tiwari is also spearheading the popularity of the FM channel.

Tiwari had earlier worked as a radio jockey with Radio FM Network, Times FM and Radio Snap.

What sets Tiwari apart is that besides the ability to instantly connect with his listeners, he is also a talented lyric writer, having written the lyrics for Tapan Sinha’s ‘Anokha Moti’, Basu Chatterjee’s ‘Hathat Brishti’ and Gautam Ghosh’s forthcoming movie ‘Yatraa’. Tiwari had also written the lyrics for Bikram Ghosh’s album ‘Samaa’ which had featured singers Shankar Mahadevan and Shaan, and ‘Rhythmscape II’ which had songs sung by Kailash Kher and Subha Mudgal. What’s more, Tiwari’s ability to come up with instant shayari has also endeared him to his listeners.

In conversation with exchange4media’s Indrani Sinha, this versatile radio jockey shares his secret for success in a highly competitive field, how to conduct a successful programme and how to keep one’s fingers on the listeners’ pulse.

Radio is the only medium that has a one-on-one relationship with listeners. Unlike watching movies or TV where we generally sit with friends and family, radio is something that we listen to and connect with music individually. Radio City is about music and songs that put you in a positive state of mind and we have mapped out songs in a particular way that will be played at different and suitable times during the day. This is the key thought behind our new campaign and brand identity.
Vikas Varma, National Head of Programming, Radio City
Apr 03, 06

“FM is a local medium and it has to have a local flavor. It’s really not a good thing for the largest networks to go in for similar content across the country. It may sound like a cheaper option in the short run, but if you don’t address local issues in the local idiom, you can’t engage your listeners and you’ll lose their loyalty. You will end up with bland, mass-market cookie cutter programming, which turns people off FM altogether.”
Nisha Narayanan, Media Consultant, Radio & TV
Jan 25, 06

Private FM radio is a three-year old medium, and with more than 330 licences being issued in 90 cities, FM as a medium will gain more acceptability and popularity. Consumers will get more entertainment choice, while advertisers will get an additional vehicle to reach their consumers. For existing players, the need to differentiate and stay ahead of the competition will be of utmost importance when the market opens up.
Shariq Patel, Station Head, GO 92.5 FM
Dec 15, 05

Our vision is to create a world of entertainment and information in crystal clear sound. When you tune in to WorldSpace, there would never be an instance when you are listening to soothing melodies from Kishore Kumar and suddenly Britney Spears follows. Globally, satellite radio has worked very well. We have two companies from the US – XM Radio and Sirius – with whom we have tie-ups. Between these two players today, there are over six million subscribers. The international digital satellite multimedia has been globalised and is available to you now.
Deepak Varma, Managing Director, WorldSpace
Nov 11, 05

“Radio City today has managed to not only revive, but also revolutionise radio-listening habits. Radio City is India’s first private FM Channel to go on air. The genre of game shows has been pioneered by Radio City with the famous Radio City 91FM Suno Aurr Lakhpati Bano, which generated overwhelming response with over 1.23 crore calls in just five weeks.”
Ambar Basu, VP Finance, Radio City
Jul 21, 05

“The way the radio industry has grown in India is phenomenal. The amount of listeners that the radio industry has got is tremendous. We never expected that private radio FM in India would be so popular. The technique that we use is far superior than what is used in foreign radio stations.”
Jaideep Banerjee, Programming Head, Radio City 91 FM, Delhi
Jun 27, 05

“I don’t think you need to be an actor on air. You need to be real. You need to be yourself. That’s why radio is called an intimate medium.”
Chaitanya Hegde, Programme Director, Radio Sparsha and Radio Jhankaar,WorldSpace Satellite Radio
May 24, 05

With three or four stations and 10 million plus listeners, of course we all sound the same. But with 20 stations, we would be forced to selectively target and that means an English station, a classical station, a talk station, a dance music remix station, a retro station and so on… But the licence fee issue is a brick wall that robs the sector of any chance to show the prolific growth it is capable of.
Vehrnon Ibrahim, National Programming Head, Red FM
Apr 13, 05

“How is a radio station supposed to pay the overwhelming license fee if its collections don’t add up to the dues? The political leaders are too busy making money for themselves, even if it means killing a medium as effective as this one. As a result, you don’t have any new stations coming up, and those that exist are on the verge of closing shop. Stations are also averse to experimenting with new formats because they feel completely bogged down by the financial constraints.”
Roshan Abbas, Radio Jockey & MD,, Encompass Productions
Dec 27, 04

“It is the ‘connect’ with the people that carries you. You may have the best voice in town but wouldn’t know how to reach out to people. If you really tell people that listen, you are not a super being and there are times when even you can have a bad cold or something stuck on your throat. On some days when you cough, you tell people ‘galle me kuchch attak gaya’ or fumble five times and say, ‘Anu, tujhe kya ho gaya?’ and people understand. What really matters is to be true and real to your listeners.”
Anurita Gupta, RJ, Radio Mirchi
Dec 08, 04

“Unfortunately, programming is something that you can’t quantify. We undoubtedly have the best minds of the country working for us and we have put in a huge amount of time and resources in training them. Training them involves getting some of the best people across the world and sending them abroad so that they can spend large amount of time with other large networks and benchmark themselves against the best.”
Tapas Sen, Senior VP (Programming), Radio Mirchi
Nov 20, 04

“The success of a radio jockey depends on the kind of popularity he can generate by inspiring people to pick up the phone and say hello. And, people would talk to you only when you actually reach out to them. That way, I believe, the must-do for a radio jockey is to maintain a down-to-earth attitude so that listeners can comfortably make calls and speak their hearts out. I think this is the most important asset for a good radio jockey.”
Sanjeeb Mukherjea, Radio Jockey, Red FM
Nov 01, 04