Spotify is finally spreading its tentacles to one of the biggest markets in the world.
With India making up over 17 percent of the world’s population with over 1.3 billion people, it is definitely a huge move for the music streaming app.
Spotify officially launched in India on Tuesday, February 26th 2019 but it was not without some serious opposition. Earlier in the week, Warner Music Group (WMG) filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent Spotify from using its artists’ songs but they went ahead with the launch without WMG’s content while the court battle continued.
Spotify is tailoring its service to the Indian market by allowing users who do not pay for subscription play any song on demand on mobile, while also featuring music from Bollywood movies.
By Wednesday, some Android users were already able to download the application. It also features over 160,000 Indian songs from Bollywood’s biggest record label, T-Series after a signed deal with Spotify.
The app is also customized to include languages like Hindu, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu. Users are able to select their preferred language.
Spotify is definitely growing, with its now over 87 million paying customers, 200 million users and its presence in 79 markets nationwide.
The service will cost 119 rupees per month after a 30-day free trial.