The music streaming market in India is slowly, but surely hotting up, with the likes of Spotify and YouTube Music entering the country. These are premium streaming services, recognised globally for their large music catalogues.
And to counter giants like these, India-based streaming platforms Gaana and JioSaavn have decided to play the pricing game. This will come as good news to music enthusiasts that the annual subscriptions to both Gaana and JioSaavn are now available at discounted prices.
This decision could have been made to appeal to users, who might be angling towards moving to either Spotify or YouTube Music in the country.
We spotted these changes on Gaana and JioSaavn’s website as well as their mobile app, which is available to both Android and iOS users in the country. With respect to prices, as you can see below, Gaana Plus, which offers unlimited download, streaming in HD quality and no ads, is now available for Rs 299 for one year.
This is a big drop from its original annual subscription cost of Rs 1,098. In addition to this, they’re also offering a student pack for one year, priced at Rs 149 that lets you connect up to five devices from one account.
As far as Reliance Jio’s music streaming platform is concerned, they can also sign up for a premium version called JioSaavn Pro at Rs 299 for one year. This is also considerably lower than the actual cost of going premium on JioSaavn.
Spotify launched in India a little over a month back, with its premium plan costing Rs 119 for one month (you get three months free trial), while YouTube Music has been priced at Rs 99 and lets you listen to music or watch music videos.
For a market like India, pricing is crucial and it is possible that with its highly attractive one-year plans, both these local music streaming brands are going for the kill.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)