From managing Indian pop singers to setting up radio stations in Dubai, music has dominated Mehirr Nath Choppra’s career.
Which is why he knew just the right time to revive a business idea he had put on the back-burner – internet radio for retail outlets and malls.
Launched last year, the Dubai-based Audio Republic customises song and instrumental music playlists, interspersed with retail messages, for malls, stores, hotels, banks and restaurants.
The company began approaching clients in June, and has already secured business deals worth Dh500,000 from nine clients including Giordano, Paris Gallery and Baby Shop.
“Any marketeer will tell you that the best time to talk to a customer is when he is at the store,” Mr Choppra says. “And audio is non intrusive, whereas video requires attention.”
Start-ups such as Audio Republic are boosted by the UAE’s growing economy, especially in the retail and hospitality sectors. But what has helped it to succeed is the way consumers shop now, says the entrepreneur, as well as the fact shopping features highly as a national pastime.
Dubai has around 2.2 million square metres of retail space and a further half a million sq metres under construction, according to CBRE analysts. Of this, mall expansions will add around 26 per cent while the remainder will come from new properties.
“The way we buy and interact with products has changed, and shopping has got more immersive,” says Mr Choppra. “But while [brands] design the interiors and lighting of their stores, they don’t design the music.”
Audio Republic provides a Dutch-manufactured music receiver to the clients that is fed from their offices in Dubai’s Al Barsha direct to the client’s outlet – running as long as the store, restaurant, mall or bank is open. The company buys the licence to play the music in public spaces from British and Indian licensing bodies.
“Some clients want the Quran in the mornings, some want silence during azan, some want only the latest chart toppers or just instrumental music, and we are OK with all,” Mr Choppra says, adding that for one retailer, flute music was banned from their playlist.
The service costs clients US$100 per month per store with the music receiver free for those with a long-term contract of three years or more.
When Mr Choppra, who is 38, first came to Dubai in 2001, his plan of a custom radio station for the retail sector led him to ask malls, stores and cafes if they liked the idea. While the response was positive, internet costs were too high to turn the idea into a feasible business.
“[Back then] 256 kilobytes would cost Dh250 a month,” Mr Choppra says. “Then I got busy and when the recession came all efforts to bring innovative businesses came to a stand-still as companies were trying to save cash.”
However, after a few years of consultancy work, he relaunched the idea when internet rates crashed, selling “everything – land, gold, and two cars” and investing $1 million of personal savings into setting up Audio Republic.
Among the job requirements of the company’s five full-time employees is to edit out any inappropriate language from the 250,000 songs on the company’s database. Every day, new releases are added to the stock.
The playlists also change through the year to make them suitable for Eid, Christmas and National Day holidays.
Time of day matters, too. “When there is high footfall, such as the weekends, stores are noisy and you don’t want chaos with noisy music as well, so we play soothing music at that time,” he says.
Audio Republic expects to launch its India operations with a call centre there in the second quarter, and is looking for $1m in investment to expand the sales team and build up on technical support as well as introducing a social media team.
Currently operating only in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, Audio hopes to be in 2,000 stores in the Arabian Gulf region within two years.
Even though he started the business after noticing changes in the music industry, there is one entrenched habit that Mr Choppra is grappling with to expand the business.
“The challenge is convincing people to pay for music,” Mr Choppra says.
ssahoo@thenational.ae
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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3%20Body%20Problem
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Essentials
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes.
Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes.
In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes.
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Racecard:
2.30pm: Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoun Emirates Breeders Society Challenge; Conditions (PA); Dh40,000; 1,600m
3pm: Handicap; Dh80,000; 1,800m
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Mile Prep Rated Conditions; Dh110,000; 1,600m
4pm: Handicap; Dh95,000; 1,950m
4.30pm: Maiden; Dh65,000; 1,400m
5pm: Handicap; Dh85,000; 1,200m
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Kandahar%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ric%20Roman%20Waugh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EGerard%20Butler%2C%20Navid%20Negahban%2C%20Ali%20Fazal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
