Warner’s war is over: Spotify will launch in India after court reprieve

Spotify’s long-running issues with the major label sector were always going to come to a head at some point. The streaming giant’s current war with Warner Music Group may just be a small insight into future clashes regarding licensing and revenue shares, but the odds have now turned in Spotify’s favour.

As reported by MBW, the Bombay High Court in Mumbai denied an emergency injunction requested by Warner Music Group which could have prevented Spotify from launching in India.

Spotify will launch in India in mere hours, paving the way for its long delayed entrance into a territory that’s forecast to be the world’s biggest population in the next five years.

As MBW points out, all eyes will be on Spotify’s pricing tiers in India where it’s expected to offer a first-of-its-kind, pay-as-you go model. This means users can pay for one day’s access to its ad-free Premium tier if they so choose, using local mobile wallet service Paytm.

India’s mobile wallet service Paytm

With this model outlined by MBW, where three months of PAYG access costs 389 INR (US$5.47), Spotify is essentially offering six months of Premium access for around the same as one month (US$9.99) in the US.

This would have Warner Music’s blood boiling. Granted, a much larger user pool will increase overall revenues for Spotify, and thus artists, labels and publishers. But it’s the decreased revenue-per-user that should have the major’s concerned.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.