Spotify silently launched in India, plans start at Rs 13 with one-month free trial
Spotify has been desperately waiting to enter India the anticipation for which spiked after the Swedish company inked a deal with T-Series, the biggest music label in India. The company is already talking to the international music labels for streaming rights in India, but one of them startled Spotify by suing it for the possible violation of copyright law. But Spotify seems undeterred for its Indian debut journey and we may be seeing the very first instance of it. Spotify website now shows the pricing of its music subscription in India, although it has not officially launched. The Spotify Premium will charge the subscribers Rs 119 per month, which is just Re 1 cheaper than what Apple Music membership costs in India.
As a placeholder, the Spotify website now reflects the pricing it is likely to come up with at the official launch in India. It’s not confirmed whether this pricing is going to be final but it clearly seems aggressive. Spotify offers a free version supported by advertisements, much like some major streaming services already available here, namely, JioSaavn, Gaana, Wynk Music, and Google Play Music. When subscribing to the premium version, which offers high-res audio and ad-free music, the customers will get 1-month free trial, the website shows. Apple Music, on the other hand, lets users stream music for free under its three-month trial period.
Here’s the full price list of Spotify membership:
1 month: Rs 119
1 year: Rs 1,189
1 day: Rs 13 (non-recurring)
7 days: Rs 39 (non-recurring)
1 month: Rs 129 (non-recurring)
3 months: Rs 389 (non-recurring)
6 months: Rs 719 (non-recurring)
For students: Rs 59 per month on annual subscription/ Rs 66 monthly
Spotify is entering India at a time when video and music streaming has shot up, thanks to cheap mobile data tariffs. But it has an astronomical roadblock in the form of established Indian streaming platforms that are much cheaper than what Spotify is tentatively planning for its premium subscription. Wynk Music is the cheapest of all, charging just Rs 49 while Gaana, JioSaavn, and Google Play Music can be monthly subscribed for the premium versions at Rs 99. Apple Music is the most premium streaming service available in India charging users Rs 120 per month under the individual plan.
Amid the impending launch, Spotify’s arrival has reached a stalemate with the music labels. Warner Music, one of the premier music labels in the US, has moved India’s court against Spotify unsolicited will to allow streaming the former’s songs on its platform in India. Warner has asked the court to block Spotify from making any of its music available for streaming in India, the license to which Spotify does not own yet. To Spotify’s surprise, India’s Copyright Act allows ‘broadcasters’ to obtain a license for copyrighted products even if the owner does not agree. Spotify is leveraging this clause in India’s copyrighting laws to do away with the woes Warner is implicating. Spotify has acquired the streaming rights for over 160,000 songs owned by T-Series in India, which makes the company’s foray into India imminent.
