Meghalaya's Bah Paul on carving space for the state's OTT platform Hello Meghalaya amidst streaming giants

Meghalaya has introduced a new Over-the-Top (OTT) platform designed to support and showcase the state's creative talent. The platform aims to promote local culture, languages, and artistic expression.

To achieve this, the platform will provide financial support to content creators, including filmmakers and musicians. Additionally, it will host live events focused on topics such as healthcare, education, and environmental protection.

In a conversation with Storyboard18, Hon’ble Minister of Department of Tourism and Department of Arts & Culture, Government of Meghalaya, Bah Paul Lyngdoh discusses how Hello Meghalaya will carve out its niche and ensure discoverability for local content creators, ensuring accessibility for audiences who may not speak the local languages featured on the platform, and more.

Can you elaborate on the selection process for The Creators Award initiative and the kind of recognition creators can expect?

The rationale behind rewarding the content creators on the launch event of state’s first OTT Platform is not only to reward them but also to promote the creators to create more content. The platform and the awards are an aim to acknowledge, empower and celebrate the local talent of Meghalaya. The award recognizes the innovative spirit and artistic excellence of our homegrown creators who have consistently impressed audiences with their remarkable work. And, we are launching this entire platform, “Hello Meghalaya” to amplify and make our artists connect with larger audience.

We selected the nominees based on popularity, community representation, post engagement and written consent, while the selection process of the Awards was based on a combination of 50 per cent online votes and 50 per cent jury evaluation who assessed the winners based on creativity, impact, reach and innovation.

With the rise of global streaming giants, how will Hello Meghalaya carve out its niche and ensure discoverability for local content creators?

It is important to note that Hello Meghalaya is a homegrown OTT platform which we have developed to amplify the work of our content creators. Unlike global streaming giants, this platform is deeply embedded not only in the promotion of content but also, resultantly, the promotion of Meghalaya’s language, culture and identity. This distinctive approach enables Hello Meghalaya to resonate with the community in a way other platforms may not.

We believe that this localized focus will enable the platform to thrive and flourish without being overshadowed by global counterparts. So, the other streaming platforms are not our competitors. If our creators as a result of Hello Meghalaya’s impact can create content for these platforms, we will be very happy to support the endeavor. HM is the platform, our creators and the cultural diversity of the state deserves, and the Government is here to provide all the support and backing to give them a wider audience.

While financial opportunities are crucial, what other forms of support, such as mentorship or training programs, will Hello Meghalaya offer to empower local creators?

Through different initiatives like the MGMP we have been providing a support to our artists across the state. For Hello Meghalaya, we invite content creators, social media influencers as well as artists and filmmakers to share their content and be a part of this initiative. Our team, through different tailored training programmes, shall make the process of content sharing seamless for the creators.

Preserving local languages and culture is commendable. How will Hello Meghalaya ensure accessibility for audiences who may not speak the local languages featured on the platform?

By creating a platform tailored for the local community, Hello Meghalaya will not only provide entertainment that resonates with the people but also endure that our languages and cultures are preserved. It is a celebration of our heritage, and the creators who are working hard to ensure that our local languages thrive through the content they are producing.

However, the platform has been created to cater to audiences from different linguistic backgrounds. The diverse content includes movies, short films, music videos, lifestyle and infotainment which will be available in various regional languages as well as English and Hindi languages with subtitles available which will cater to a broader audience and ensure that nobody feels left out. As we have always promoted it, this is for ‘everyone’ in Meghalaya.

Hello Meghalaya is a government-backed platform. How will intellectual property rights and revenue sharing be addressed for content creators on the platform? Will there be clear guidelines to ensure creators are fairly compensated for their work?

A Rental Model has been developed for the movies and short films in which the content will be rented from the content creator for a period of one year. An agreement will be signed between the Filmmakers and Hello Meghalaya. A Hybrid Model has been designed for Music Artistes and Lifestyle and Infotainment Video Artistes through which a renumeration will be offered through two methods – annual rental fee per content and pay-per-view earnings, which will be granted solely upon approval.

There's a growing conversation around data privacy and user consent. What data privacy regulations will Hello Meghalaya adhere to, and how will user data be protected on the platform?

Hello Meghalaya, as a platform, will be available to download from Play Store, App Store and other authentic platforms only, thereby giving a first-degree security to all other users. Secondly, the platform will ensure not only the data privacy of the users but also continuously monitor that proper user-safety and privacy guidelines are followed. We have a dedicated team for the purpose of the same. The users will have their own user-id and password linked to their email address and phone number alike other Streaming Platforms. We will also ensure that the content creators and their copyright are protected at every stage of content distribution.

Hello Meghalaya aims to promote local languages. Will there be any regulations or quotas in place to ensure a diverse range of local languages are represented on the platform, or will content selection be primarily market-driven?

To answer, what drives us, we are primarily Creators-Driven, Culture-Driven, Diversity-Driven. When the Government and the Department of Tourism came up with the idea of creating Hello Meghalaya, our goal was to empower local creators and celebrate the rich diversity. That’s why we have avoided imposing quotas. Instead, we have established clear guidelines for movies, short films and music videos to ensure that a wide range of content is available in various local and regional languages.