Report: Spotify eying India while Apple Music expanding in China

Spotify, the world’s largest streaming service, is heavily speculated to be in the Indian market within six months.

It has been eying the massive market for some time but has had its share of problems.

Rather than a smooth process as in the west, India is a jigsaw of multi-small licensing.

Only Sony Music has any presence of the western majors there.

“India specifically is a very fragmented marketplace with lots of different local labels, lots of different local publishers,” CEO Daniel Ek has conceded.

However, reports are quoting inside sources that it has been striking local partners to enter the country, (population 1.3 billion) in the first quarter of 2019.

An investigation by Music Business Worldwide found that so far no licensing deals have been struck with Universal Music, Sony Music or Warner Music.

The other problem Spotify faces in India is that 100 million use streaming services.

But very few have become subscribers  – not with YouTube offering massive music video content for free and local companies are already slashing subs fees to get them in.

But India is a glittering prize for Spotify, as would two massive Asian markets China and South Korea.

Here again, it would have a battle if it enters China.

Apple Music s in the process of scaling up its operations there.

It is advertising for a new head of music for the region, looking for someone “experienced at scaling complex businesses” and with “extensive work experience in the music industry, both internationally and locally.”