MUMBAI: There are nearly 600 million smartphone users in India and the figure could cross 700 million by 2030. The data charges in the country are among the lowest in the world. We also have one billion active mobile broadband connections. More than 20,000 songs are released in a year in a country where 65% of the population is under the age of 35 years and is high on digital content consumption. But if you thought all these key data points are enough to fuel music subscriptions in India for both foreign and homegrown apps like Amazon Music, Spotify, JioSaavn or Gaana, think again.
Event Context
The size of the Indian music industry has remained small — estimated at ₹5,300 crore in 2024 – by the Ficci-EY media report of 2025. Though it’s projected to touch ₹7,800 crore by 2027, paid subscribers of music streaming apps in India were low at 10-11 million in 2024 in an active user base of 175 million. Traditional ways of listening to music have been replaced by streaming apps that come with their own challenges, negatively impacting the industry revenues.
Poor growth in paid music subscriptions bothered Ashish Pherwani, partner, EY India, who pushed for a study to dive into its causes. Released last week, the study was conducted in collaboration with IMI (Indian Music Industry), the apex body representing the interests of recorded music in the country.
Besides, the OTTs played on exclusive content. “You cannot watch ‘Sacred Games’ anywhere except on Netflix. Or ‘Family Man’ except on Prime Video. In India music isn’t exclusive to any streaming app,” Pherwani said. OTT video services also made a sharp distinction between their free and paid products. Music apps could follow suit to create experiences through premium features and meaningful exclusivity, the study said. “For instance, what if music apps get AI DJs on the paid product? Or if you like trivia about your favourite songs, can they customize it and give you some details before the song plays?” said Pherwani.
Match Outlook
EY and IMI surveyed more than 15,000 smartphone users in India to understand their music habits and willingness to pay. The good news is that 96% of smartphone users surveyed said they listen to music on their phones and 80% listen to it for an hour a day. While 60% listen to music apps, that is, the digital service providers (DSPs), 32% log into YouTube. Of the people surveyed only 38% had paid for music. Interestingly, people who did not pay said they could not distinguish between free and paid music services and that the free options were sufficient to meet their needs.
However, 61% of the people under study said they are willing to pay if no free options were available and if the price of music was reasonable.
“Indians have been used to free music for a very long time. First it was radio and then came free television music channels. Even video streaming OTT platforms had free music products and now a large part of YouTube feed is free. There’s been decades of free access to music. It will take time for that mindset to change,” Ashish Pherwani said.
Yet in the past consumers have shelled out money for vinyl records, cassettes and CDs. “People paid for cassettes and CDs as they were physical assets that they owned. In a streaming subscription, the feeling is that you own nothing except a temporary right to access music,” explained Pherwani.
People are, similarly, willing to fork out big sums to purchase concert tickets. “Again, that is a physical experience where you click a selfie and put out a social media post that you were at the Diljit Dosanjh concert. So, the key will be to build value perception of streamed music by the platforms,” Pherwani said.
In India, OTT video streaming brands (Netflix, Prime Video etc) had a slow start too but today there are between 150 to 200 million paid OTT subscribers. There may be learnings that music apps can pick from them. For starters, initially, their very low pricing hooked consumers. They also bundled their services effectively with the telcos. The EY-IMI study said music apps, too, could try bundling with highly used apps or with OTT platforms. They could also offer multiple user or family plans to induce trials, much like what the OTTs did.
The study said music is seen as a low-cost utility rather than a high-value product which limits the perceived need for subscriptions. So, innovation will be key. Currently, the music apps just offer music. “The world has changed and customers expect more. Streaming apps mustn’t just sit on music IPs. It’s how they gel with other facets of a customer’s life that will add value. And if people see value, they will pay.”
Music is heard most during travel. During a long city commute a music app can also offer intermittent city news, for example. Or play contextual music if your phone knows that you are on your morning jog, said Pherwani.
He believes that Indian music being film-based with well-picturised songs raise the craze for film stars. In the UK and the US, music is made primarily by independent artists. Once the Indian music industry shifts to being more independent artistes based, their millions of fans will be willing to spend more on their music, merchandise and concerts.
The study noted that the market has the potential to grow its paid subscriber base to 28-30 million by 2028. However, Pherwani said the industry stakeholders are more bullish and in the long run, they estimate the total market potential to be between 50 million and 75 million paid subscriptions.
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The findings of the study ‘How India listens, streams and pays for music’ shows an uptick in paid subscriptions which have increased to 14 million. But that’s still barely 7% of the total music app users estimated at 200 million. Even an emerging market like Brazil has 30 million paid subscribers of music, according to the study.
