Have you been reading all those memes about the rivalry between Spotify and Apple Music? But alas! You didn’t know which was the better music streaming service since you had no access to Spotify in India. But boy, oh, boy can we participate in the debate now.
Late But Here At Last
After months of speculations, there’s finally good news! It is now confirmed that Spotify,
We almost couldn’t enjoy this streaming service after a court injunction was filed by Warner Music Company to prevent the Swedish firm from entering the Indian market. Bombay High Court’s decision, however, looks like a tie. The interim decision allowed the company to roll out its services to the Indian users after making a deposit of 6.5 crores, according to a Times of India report.
Although the app doesn’t have a statutory license yet, a Spotify spokesperson said, “We’re pleased with the outcome. We’re hopeful for a negotiated solution with Warner.” A sour Warner Music Company, however, told Music Business Worldwide, “For Spotify to claim that the court denied our injunction is a lie.”
While the legal tug of war is ongoing, the app rolled out its services on Tuesday. New and existing users could access the app through Spotify’s web and mobile apps. Although iOS users can’t sign up for the subscription-based premium services, they can still play music on the app. So, sign up, log in and pick your choice of music to listen to and enjoy.
Music of Every Kind for Everyone
Whatever genre you enjoy, you’ll find the one you jam to on this music streaming app from pop to classical, and more. You can also have access to podcasts if that is more to your liking (no judgments here!). What’s better is that Spotify also offers regional options such as Bollywood, Punjabi, Tamil and more to suit the Indian music taste better.
Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek commented on the launch and said, “India has an incredibly rich music culture. To best serve this market, we’re launching a custom-built experience. Not only will Spotify bring Indian artists to the world, but we’ll also bring the world’s music to fans across India. Spotify’s music family just got a whole lot bigger.”
In addition, you can also do a lot of things with the app. Like your favourite songs using the heart icon to add them in your Library, and further sort them into playlists, artists, albums and podcasts. You can also create your own playlists.
A Little Competition
Spotify boasts 207 million active users in 79 markets worldwide, of which 96 million are paid subscriptions. And to taste the same sweet success in the country, the company will have to do all that they can to attract the Indian users. The company claims that they add around 30,000 songs each day, racking up a staggering 3 billion playlist options. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have competition.
With a host of competitors like Apple Music, Amazon Music, Saavn, Gaana and more, will Spotify be able to keep its worldwide reputation in the country? We don’t know, but for now, Beyonce belting out “listen” could be their tagline.
