In India, music is one of the easiest and most accessible form of entertainment.
Predominately music access was majorly through saved songs on mobile phones by downloads and radio but with easy access to compatible multimedia capable devices such as smartphones, tablets etc. and widespread investment in 3G and 4G networks, it has led to greater availability of higher data speeds required for streaming, in turn creating a complete new generation of online music listeners has emerged in India.
There were an estimated 27 million online music users in India in March 2015. The number of online music listeners is expected to grow to 273 million by March 2020. Most of this growth would be driven by youth in the age group of 18 to 35 years and almost 85% of these users would access the music through connected mobile devices.
At present, downloads and streaming contribute almost equally to the overall digital music revenues, however, the streaming revenues are growing much faster.
Contribution from digital music segment to overall Indian music industry revenues is expected to grow from 55% in 2014 to 72% in 2017. Further, with that growth digital music industry revenues including streaming, downloads, and other formats revenues and subscription and ad revenues are expected to cross 31 billion by 2020.
Currently, Indian music industry is undergoing an evolution towards the digital delivery platforms and digital consumption obsession.
“The digital streaming industry in India is in its nascent stages and as the digital ecosystem in India evolves, with higher smartphone and internet penetration, the category is expected to witness sharp growth over the next 5 years,” said Pawan Agarwal, Business Head, Gaana.
While the overall music industry in India has grown to around 10.7 billion in 2014 24 at a CAGR ( Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 5.5% only over the past four years, it is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 24% till 2017 mostly driven by the digital music segment. New formats like streaming and downloads are getting high traction among consumers.
With online music becoming the preferred choice, it is worth a wait to watch how subscription and ad-based service play as key contributor for digital music industry in the coming years.
