Spotify made its way to India less than a week back and has already hit 1 million users in India, taking in account both paid and free customers, Billboard reported the company as saying. A Spotify representative confirmed the same to The Verge as well.
Spotify was officially launched in India on 27 February, amid a legal battle against Warner music group that had filed an injunction looking to stop Spotify from launching in the country with Warner/Chappell music publishing.
The app was launched with a Rs 119/month subscription and a free trial for a month, after which users can decide whether they wish to pay for another digital service or not.
The Verge reports that the company doesn’t usually release such early numbers, hence, it is not known if this is the fastest market to have reached a million user base.
Out of India’s 1.30 billion population, only 150 million people are subscribed to music streaming services, The Verge cited a Deloitte and IMI study as saying.
Out of this 150 million number, less than one percent pay for a music streaming service and about 14 percent have a bundled subscription which they get via a network subscription, etc.
The remaining 85 percent don’t pay for music subscriptions, the Deloitte and IMI study says.
We couldn’t find such number for other music streaming services, so a comparison can not be drawn on if it is the fastest growing music app in the country but a million users in six days is anyways impressive.
In India, Spotify’s most fierce competitors are said to be Apple Music, Amazon Music, Gaana and Jio Saavn. Google Play Music hasn’t really been able to make its mark on Indian listeners.
(With inputs from The Verge and Billboard.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)