Indians Can Expect To ‘SPOTIFY’ In The Next Six Months

Swedish Company Spotify Technology is planning to expand their music streaming service to India within the next six months, reports the Economic Times. According to top industry executives, Spotify is having final negotiations with top Indian labels T-Series, Times Music, Eros Music and Zee Music for local content.

Spotify is one of the most popular music apps in Europe and the America. Spotify has recently expanded its global presence into 13 countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Earlier, the company was not able to enter India because of failed acquisition talks and was not able to partner with Indian labels. This time around, Spotify plans to go solo and has already hired more than 330 employees in India, as well as large office space in Mumbai. Spotify has also appointed former OLX India CEO Amarjit Singh Batra as the head in India.

The Managing Director of T-Series, Bhushan Kumar said, “We are in the final stages of negotiations for a two-year deal,” while adding Spotify will feature T-series music internationally in the first quarter, after which they will launch in India.

Times Music, who already has an international deal with Spotify and are also in talks for an agreement on India, the COO Mandar Thakur said. “We are in active negotiations for India with them. As and when (Spotify) launch in India, we are hopeful to be available,” he said.

Executives from Zee Music and Eros International also confirmed having talks with Spotify. The Indian market will be a tough crack for Spotify since music services like Gaana, Saavn, Hungama, Wynk, Apple Music, Google Play and Amazon Music already dominate the market, industry experts said.