Tuning Up

LOCAL AND GLOBAL PLAYERS ARE WOOING INDIAN CONSUMERS WITH MUSIC STREAMING SERVICES. DIFFERENTIATION WILL DECIDE WHO WINS AND WHO LOSES.

- Nidhi Singal

MUSIC LOVERS in India never had it so good. Now there is no need to visit a music store or purchase it online or download it clandestinely (yes, we call it piracy) as nearly a dozen music streaming services, both homegrown and global, are operating in the country. YouTube Music is the latest to join the league that has global leader Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Prime Music (part of the Prime offering in India) and a bunch of heavily funded Indian players such as JioSaavn, Gaana and Wynk in the fray. All of them offer millions of songs across genres, provide curated playlists and feature Internet radio shows. Add to that the growing number of smartphone users, cheaper data and improved bandwidths (3G and 4G coverage), and one can easily understand why online music streaming and downloads are growing.

According to a recent report by the Indian Music Industry (IMI)-Deloitte on the audio OTT (over-the-top) economy, the number of smartphone users is expected to grow to 829 million in 2022 from 404 million in 2017, leading to a digital revolution where an increasing number of people will