‘When you’re ‘the girl’ from mechanical, there’s a playlist for that: One in a Million’. You may have seen this — or a series of other location and city-specific advertisements for Spotify — on your recent commute. It’s just one example from a campaign that includes reflerences to long airport rides in Bengaluru and the film industry in Mumbai’s suburbs.
For a global player which entered the Indian market at a time when it appeared to be saturated, hyper-locally-targeted advertising has helped tap into new audiences, says Spotify India’s MD, Amarjit Singh Batra.
Close on the heels of Spotify (which came to India in late February), Google-owned YouTube Music made its own entry, boasting three million downloads within the first week (compared to Spotify’s one million subscribers). As part of the publicity, top leadership, including YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, flew into Mumbai for a star-studded promotional event, featuring local musicians like Anirudh Ravichandran and Alka Yagnik.
Spotify has its algorithms, ‘discovery factor’ and playlists on its side. YouTube Music has a ready arsenal of local celebrities and the fact that many Indians already consume their music in video format on the video platform. Both apps have free and premium versions. Meanwhile, other international players like Apple Music, and local platforms like JioSaavn, Gaana and Airtel’s recently-launched Wynk Tube, have also carved out niches by targeting regional languages and bringing in original content.
Needless to say, music streaming is booming in India, helping listeners move away from a film-driven music culture. A recent study by Deloitte and the Indian Music Industry (IMI) values India’s Over-The-Top (OTT) market at $280 million, with OTT contributing to 67% of the country’s total music revenue. And Indian musicians, like AR Rahman and Arijit Singh, are widely-listened to on these streaming platforms, both at home and abroad. One year ago, no video featuring an Indian artiste had surpassed 500 million views on YouTube. Today, there are eight.
And independent musicians are also able to make their mark in an otherwise film-focussed country. “I think more than anything, streaming platforms have done away with the need of a monopolised distribution system for music,” says Prateek Kuhad, one of Spotify’s most listened to independent musicians from India. “It makes the whole process a lot more democratic.”
But with piracy still rampant, will paid options be a deterrent? Ashwin Tiwari, of music and film production and distribution company Tips Industries, thinks so. Pointing to reports that only around 1% of Indians streaming music are paying subscribers, Tiwari says, “People mostly avoid [anything] you have to pay for.”
Spotify and YouTube Music, though, are more hopeful.
With inputs from Anahita Panicker and Anurag Tagat
