Spotify goes live in India earlier this week, bringing with it an arsenal of exclusive perks to go against the already-teeming music streaming scene in the country.
In 2018, the company announced its plans to enter the world's biggest digital markets, including Africa, Russia, and India.
India-Exclusive Features
Over 40 million songs are now available on Spotify India. The platform's library includes music from Bollywood movies, which has always been an important part of the Indian culture. Songs from Kollywood and Tollywood are available as well.
Just like in other countries, there are also a specially curated playlists for the Indian market, such as Bollywood Butter, Namaste Love, Punjabi101, Rap 91, and Indiestan. This is in addition to Spotify's auto-selected Radio, Home, and Daily Mix playlists. Spotify recommendations will also feature songs from Indian actors and movies.
The music streaming service offers support for different languages, including Tamil, Punjabi, Hindi, and Telugu.
Notably — and for the first time — Spotify's free version is giving Indian users access to on-demand music on their smartphones.
The Competition
Spotify India will go head to head with competitors such as JioSaavn, Gaana, Google Play, Apple Music, and Amazon. With all the competition, Spotify offering a host of country-exclusive features to India is a clever move to help gain a bigger market share, most are probably already using other music streaming platforms in the country.
Aside from all the perks mentioned above, Spotify premium in India will cost way cheaper compared to its competitors. The paid platform is available for 119 rupees (or about $1.67) per month, and the company also offers other plans such as a one-day access priced at 13 rupees (around $0.18), one-week plan for 39 rupees ($0.55), and a one-month plan for 129 rupees ($1.81). Students can also enjoy all plans at 50 percent off the original price.
