Now Reading: Audio streaming bets on bundles to fix low paying base
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Audio streaming bets on bundles to fix low paying base
India's music-streaming market is turning to telecom, banking and e-commerce bundles to convert its large free user base into paying subscribers. A report by EY and the Indian Music Industry says such…
India's music-streaming market is turning to telecom, banking and e-commerce bundles to convert its large free user base into paying subscribers. A report by EY and the Indian Music Industry says such tie-ups can lift the sector's average revenue per user, currently at about Re 1 per day, and drive growth.
India had 14 million paid music subscriptions as of December 2025, a fraction of the 200 million-plus paid video-streaming subscriptions. Spotify and JioSaavn say bundles help cut customer acquisition costs and scale trials, but they warn that converting trial users into long-term paying listeners depends on whether the experience feels worth paying for.
Industry experts point out that audio platforms face a structural disadvantage versus video services. Video services own most of their content, while audio platforms pay per-stream royalties, making it harder to profit from bundles unless music-licensing economics are reworked. The report recommends India move bundling from a short-term promotion to a structured acquisition-to-retention funnel.
Indian Opinion Analysis
India's paid music subscriber base of 14 million remains tiny next to its 200 million-plus paid video users, a gap that reflects the structural differences between the two markets. Video platforms own their content libraries, so every new subscriber directly improves margins. Audio platforms pay per-stream royalties to multiple rights holders, meaning a subscriber surge without lower licensing costs can erode profit. The EY-IMI report was prepared for the Indian Music Industry, the trade body representing record labels, and its recommendations naturally favour models that could raise per-stream payouts. The real test is whether labels will rework licensing terms to enable the very bundles the report champions, or whether they hold out for higher per-user minimum guarantees. The outcome directly affects how quickly services such as Spotify and JioSaavn can convert India's 300 million-odd free listeners into paying users.
Source: livemint.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
