Micromax buys stake in Gaana, to integrate app with handset

Country's second largest handset maker Micromax today said it has invested in Gaana, India's largest music broadcast and streaming service. No financial details were disclosed. Under the deal, Gaana will be available on all Micromax smartphones, enabling users to seamlessly enjoy mobile music, a statement said.

New users of Micromax smartphones will also receive free trials to Gaana+, allowing unlimited downloads without advertising. "India is a music loving country and today's youth is hooked on music for at least 2-3 hours a day through their smartphones... we are proud to announce our partnership with them to provide our neo users an uninterrupted access to latest tunes and transcend them into the world of music," Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma said.

He added that the investment is part of the company's efforts to build an ecosystem of connected devices in a connected world. Previously, the Gurgaon-based firm had said it will invest in startups across segments like healthcare, entertainment and gaming as part of its plans to strengthen services portfolio as it looks to stay competitive against rivals like Samsung and Xiaomi. "In partnership with Micromax, we will strengthen our footprint, helping us reach our goal of 100 million Indian users," Times Internet (which owns Gaana.com) CEO Satyan Gajwani said.

Previously, Micromax has invested in travel search engine Ixigo, HealthifyMe and comparison platform Scandid as part of its plans to develop strategically relevant deployments of software that leverage its consumer footprint. Gaana has a library of over 10 million songs with ad supported streaming in over 45 languages. It has over 20 million active users and has seen over 30 million downloads.

In May this year, Gaana was in news after the site's user database was breached by a Pakistani hacker.