Vodafone Idea to Launch Music Streaming App, Will Rival JioSaavn

Vodafone Idea with over 350 mn users will look to partner with existing players in the music-streaming business.

Vodafone Idea is the latest telecom operator looking to launch its own music streaming service. According to a senior executive of the company quoted in a Livemint report, the telco will shelve its existing Idea Music app and look to start afresh that will compete with other platforms available.

It’s probably the right move for the company, when you consider that Jio (with JioSaavn) and Airtel (with Wynk) already cater to their users’ need for music content on-the-go.

“We are sunsetting the Idea Music app and we will come up very soon with an offering that will provide the best-in-class music streaming services, through a partnership that we are in the final stages of closing,” Balesh Sharma, CEO, Vodafone Idea was quoted saying in a conference call.

With 4G and, in the coming years, 5G looking to stamp its mark in the Indian telecom space, telcos will need more avenues to earn money from, especially with falling average revenue per user (ARPU) from data plans.

Voice calls have already become irrelevant for the companies, but content partnership (unless you’re a Jio and can buy anyone you want) is possibly their best chance to appeal to users, looking for a reliable network to bank on. Video and music streaming is a growing segment, thanks to drastic fall in data prices, and the results are showing up for platforms like Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video and even Netflix among others.

In the music space, users already go for Gaana, Prime Music, JioSaavn and pretty soon they’ll have Spotify as well. But with Indian customers not loosening their purse strings, even premium plans are priced as low as Rs 99. Even Apple Music costs Rs 120 per month.

Listening to Balesh Sharma saying that “Vodafone Idea will look for partnerships in the music space” means, the aforementioned streaming platforms could be in business.

Make no mistake, with over 350 million users, Vodafone Idea is a golden egg waiting to be made use of and streaming players, even to start with free services, should be keen on teaming up.