In the third quarter of 2019, Swedish music streaming giant Spotify witnessed 30 per cent growth in terms of its user-base in the third quarter of 2019 - between the months of July and October.
“This momentum was driven by a number of factors including the launch of our first broad-based marketing campaign, “Sunte Ja” (“Listen On”), in February,” Spotify said in a statement late on Monday.
Within the first week of its grand launch in Mumbai, Spotify clocked a quick million users in India. Roughly six months later, in August, the platform claimed to have garnered over 2 million active users each month.
In addition, between July-October 2019, Spotify saw an upswing in premium subscribers in India, which grew by 31 per cent to reach 113 million.
With the new-comer performing exponentially well, competition in the music-streaming industry seems to be intensifying in India.
A previous report by market consulting firm Deloitte released earlier this year, suggested that the online music market in India is expected to surpass $273 million by 2020.
At a time when domestic music streaming platforms like Gaana and JioSaavn are figuring out ways to strengthen their foothold in their own country, foreign players including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music are seemingly flourishing in the country.
Competing neck and neck in the fierce user-base battle, home-grown and international music streaming players slashed their monthly subscription fees in India drastically.
While JioSaavn offers monthly premium subscription plans for $4 approx. (Rs. 299), Gaana, Apple Music and YouTube Music provide ad-free services for as little as $1.5 approx. (Rs. 99) per plan in India.
On October 1, Spotify launched its new “Premium Family Plan” in India, allowing up to six members to enjoy premium services for $2.5 approx. (Rs.179) per month.
Citing a recent survey by the CyberMedia Research (CMR) firm, media reports say that over 55 per cent of people in India are spending 30 per cent of their time listening to music.
In a ranking of digital content engagement among Indian consumers in 2018, music emerged as the most accessed, downloaded and/or streamed category on a scale of 0 to 4 - with a ranking of 3.13 - followed by apps, movies and TV shows, newspapers and video games, according to database platform Statista.
