Times Internet’s music streaming service Gaana is slated to launch Gaana+, a pro service that supports offline listening and multibit rate and importantly, an option to download songs as well.
Given the rate at which the digital music industry is growing, streaming-only isn’t an option anymore. Earlier, Saavn launched offline listening and Dhingana launched its service for mobile web (feature phones are on roadmap).
As we have written before, the Indian streaming music industry is becoming increasingly crowded with more and more players entering the fray. Streaming sites like Times Internet’s Gaana, venture funded Dhingana and Hungama along with online stores that sell music such as Flipkart’s Flyte and Apple’s iTunes which launched recently in India exist in a market where sales were estimated to be around Rs 640 cr in 2012. Flipkart’s music service Flyte crossed 1 lakh users and 2.5 million song downloads last week.
Aside, Gaana has also launched its BB10 app (link) and claims to have crossed the 200,000 mark downloads for Gaana apps in other app stores.
Digital Music Industry in India
A casual at the digital music sales involved will prompt a question: Its barely a $100 million industry, so why all this attention?
Its simple: Though small in size, the industry is growing rapidly. Music consumption, especially on mobile, is growing and no one wants to miss out on the action. Digital music sales beat physical music sales in 2010 and the industry is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 22% till 2016 (Read: Online Music Industry in India: A look at Past, Present and Future).
