Pureplay of the Day: 7Online (Burma)

Pureplay of the day spotlights adventures in off-road listening.

The population of Burma (officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar) is about 60-million — less than Pandora’s base of active listeners. Only one percent of Burma’s population has Internet access, but that’s enough of a market to support 7Online, the country’s first and only Internet radio station.

Started last year, 7Online produces six hours of daily programming, and repurposes that block throughout the 24-hour stream. RAIN, a non-Burmese-speaking organization, bravely downloaded the iOS app for some Southeast Asian pureplay groove. The interface is attractive, clean, and dead-simple with its giant Play button.

According to Irrawaddy, a Burmese news publication, the six friends who started 7Online bypassed government radio regulations by forgoing news coverage in station programming. 7Online reportedly has 10,000 global listeners.

Make that 10,001 — RAIN’s editorial office is rocking to 7Online’s heady mix of synth-pop ballads, Asian rap, and ethnic crossover.