MUMBAI: In the recent development, Eros Now has signed a deal with Apple Inc to become partners for consolidated services with music being one of the prime features. Flaunting to become the only Indian OTT platform to have forged a deal with Apple, Eros Now looks at earning on the per user per basis. While, this is making a footprint globally, in India too, foreign companies are making their foothold strong. Spotify entering the Indian market and garnering over one million subscribers, the landscape of music streaming apps in India is sticking to its ever changing dynamic.
Apart from the Swedish giant, there are home-grown names like JioSaavn, Gaana, Hungama who are getting their share of pie. The labelled content remains same more or less; however, what are the differentiating factors are the recommendations developed by Artificial Intelligence, app interface and original curated content.
The flow of content is struggling with a lack of premium subscribers, as only 1% of Indians are paying or willing to pay for premium services. The concept of paying for access is yet-to-find an audience in India. While JioSaavn, Gaana and Spotify have free streaming with the support of ads, recently introduced YouTube Music, Amazon, and Apple Music don’t. Ad supported streaming services have a major challenge of converting a free subscriber to a paid one, as a free subscriber would not mind the few seconds of ads or average sound quality instead of paying for the services. While free access is a hindrance, the lowering rates of data and heavy penetration of hand held devices is a boon for all streaming services.
Content wise Apple music stands tall with a portfolio of over 45 million songs at par with JioSavan that has 40 million songs and Amazon with 30 million above songs.
The current 300 million subscriber base market is expected to reach more than 700 million subscribers market. As Spotify India managing director Amarjit Singh Batra was quoted recently, “This is the ripe time to have entered the Indian market. The growth in usage of devices, low data prices, and a predication of developing of a matured and a paying subscriber base are the reasons why the landscape of music streaming apps in India is vibrant and dynamic.”