Spotify launches its music streaming services in India

Music streaming service Spotify has finally launched and started rolling out its services in India. The company decided to go ahead with the launch amidst its legal battle with Warner Music company over music rights in the country. The app is available for download for free, and premium services start as a subscription rate of as low as Rs 19.

The service was made available to users in India on Tuesday evening. Users can stream music and podcasts from Spotify’s website and mobile app.

“As Spotify grows, our goal is to bring millions of artists and billions of fans together from every country and background,” said Daniel Ek, Spotify’s founder and CEO in a statement.

“India has an incredibly rich music culture, and to best serve this market, we’re launching a custom-built experience. Not only will Spotify bring Indian artists to the world, but we will also bring the world’s music to fans across India. We have been working towards this goal for quite some time, and I am thrilled with today’s launch,” he added.

The music service has been customised for the Indian audience, and it includes multiple language options like Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi, etc.

Registered users can stream music for free, supported by ads or can opt for Spotify Premium to enjoy ad-free, downloadable music. The Premium plan would be free for the first 30 days following which users would have to pay Rs 119 a month.

The premium prepaid plan, apart from an annual subscription, also includes one-day, weekly, monthly, quarterly and half-yearly plans ranging from Rs 19 to Rs 1189.

The company is also offering a student-plan that would cost Rs 59/month. Spotify has partnered with SheerID for student verification. The service would offer more than 4 crore songs and over 300 crore playlists that would include Indian songs along with international music.

The music and podcast streaming service has already partnered with T-Series and Sony, while it battles in the court with Warner Music Group for music rights in India.

Spotify would be competing directly with popular services like Apple Music, Jio Saavn, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, amongst others. Apple charges Rs 120/month for its services in India, while Jio Saavn charges Rs 120 for its Lite version and Rs 250 for the Pro version.

Google Play, on the other hand, charges Rs 99 a month. The cheapest amongst the competitors is Amazon Music that charges Rs 1,000 a year. It would be difficult for Spotify to compete with its competitors due to their already existing strong user-base.