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  • YouTube to launch music streaming app in India

    YouTube to launch music streaming app in India

    MUMBAI: Google-owned YouTube has announced the launch of its new music streaming app YouTube Music in the country, in a bid to grab a pie of the growing Indian audio streaming industry.

    According to reports, the ad-supported version of YouTube Music is free and to get access to ad-free YouTube Music Premium, consumers will have to pay Rs 99 a month, the company said in a statement.

    YouTube global head of music Lyor Cohen said, "With YouTube Music, we are hoping to bring the best in global and Indian music to millions of fans across India, and give them an immersive music experience."

    The company also announced to bring "YouTube Premium" to India which would be available for Rs 129 a month that included membership to YouTube Music Premium, offline downloads and access to all YouTube originals.

    "Samsung Galaxy S10 users can enjoy four months of free, ad-free access to YouTube Premium," said the company.

    YouTube Music would throw a big competition to services like Gaana, Saavn, Apple Music and Amazon Music. This is the second big debut of global music streaming giant in India after Swedish platform Spotify made its way into the country late last month and garnered over one million users.

  • Mahesh Narayanan appointed country manager for LinkedIn India

    Mahesh Narayanan appointed country manager for LinkedIn India

    MUMBAI: Professional networking website LinkedIn has announced the appointment of Mahesh Narayanan as the company’s country manager for India. He will handle his responsibilities from 7 January 2019.

    Previously, Narayanan has also served as the India managing director for Saavn and led Google India's mobile advertising business from 2010-2013. He also led the digital transformation and market-entry strategies for a host of marquee digital businesses such as Sociomantic Labs and AdMob among others in the past.

    On his appointment, Narayanan said, “I am grateful for the opportunity to further LinkedIn's vision and mission in an important market that is rapidly digitising.”

    Narayanan will be reporting to LinkedIn's Asia Pacific (APAC) region managing director Oliver Legrand and will join the company's Asia Pacific senior management team.

    To Narayanan’s appointment, Legrand said, “India continues to be a strategic market for LinkedIn, and we are pleased to have Mahesh join our team to take our business to its next growth chapter.” Further adding he said, “As we continue to invest in the market, Mahesh's strong track record in leading growth businesses and his deep market experience will bolster our efforts in India.”

    LinkedIn has over 59 crore members globally and more than 5.3 crore members in India. As LinkedIn's fastest-growing and largest market outside the US, India has seen its member base grow from 34 lakh members in November 2009 to more than 5.3 crore members in July 2018.

  • JioMusic and Saavn integrate to create South Asia’s largest platform for music, media and artists – JioSaavn

    JioMusic and Saavn integrate to create South Asia’s largest platform for music, media and artists – JioSaavn

    MUMBAI: Saavn Media Private Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (“RIL”), today launched JioSaavn, South Asia’s largest streaming, entertainment and artist platform. JioSaavn represents the official integration of JioMusic, India’s most popular music app, and Saavn, India’s leading global over-the-top platform. The new integrated JioSaavn app will be available across all App Stores including the Jio app store, on JioPhone, as well as, at www.jio.com/jiosaavn.

    As announced in March 2018 at the time of acquisition of Saavn by Reliance Industries Ltd, the implied valuation of the combined entity at over US$1 billion makes it the most valuable music streaming platform in South Asia, and among the most popular in the world.

    JioSaavn combines the streaming media expertise of Saavn with Jio’s digital services ecosystem. Jio is India’s largest digital services network with over 252 million subscribers. The integrated app has a massive addressable market opportunity both in India as well as for the Indian diaspora.

    With the integrated JioSaavn app, users can expect a suite of new in-app products and music experiences, including an interactive lyrics feature, localized vernacular display, custom integrations with concerts and live events, as well as exclusive video content to roll out over the next few months.

    The service will be offered on a freemium model in India with all users having access to the ad-supported product. Jio subscribers would enjoy seamless access to the integrated app. Additionally, as part of this launch, Jio users will also get a 90-day extended free trial of JioSaavn Pro, the streaming service’s premium product.

    Speaking on the launch of JioSaavn, Akash Ambani, Director, Reliance Jio, said, “JioSaavn represents a turning point for the music streaming industry in India, as the country continues to experience accelerated tech innovation, rapid adoption of digital services, and a digital music industry at par with global leaders. Powered by Jio’s advanced digital services infrastructure and complemented by its widespread user base, JioSaavn will be the largest streaming platform in India.”

    Supported by the resources and connectivity of India’s most powerful digital services network, JioSaavn will continue to build on Saavn’s groundbreaking Original Programming and artist development platform, Artist Originals (AO). Saavn’s Original Programming, which has redefined the development, marketing and distribution of original audio entertainment, produces and exclusively distributes some of India’s most popular audio podcasts, like ‘#NoFilterNeha‘, ‘Thank You For Sharing’, ‘Take 2 with Anupama and Rajeev’, ‘Talking Music’ and ‘Kahaani Express with Neelesh Misra’.

    The Saavn co-founders – Rishi Malhotra, Paramdeep Singh and Vinodh Bhat – continue in their leadership roles to drive the growth of the company. JioSaavn’s team of more than 200 employees also continues to operate out of its five global offices at Mountain View and New York in the United States and Bengaluru, Gurugram, and Mumbai in India.

    Rishi Malhotra, Co-Founder and CEO, JioSaavn, stated, “Since announcing our merger in March 2018, the Jio and Saavn teams have been working to integrate and reimagine a combined platform in JioSaavn. Today, we have one of the most personalized and capable media platforms in the world, an unmatched content catalog, regionalized editorial and original programming and music that’s redefining how artists and creators connect directly with audiences worldwide.”

    Paramdeep Singh, Co-Founder and Executive Vice Chairman, JioSaavn added, “The launch of JioSaavn marks a new era for music streaming in India and, the global music industry at large. Combining the scale and quality of the Jio network with our highly engaged product experience, JioSaavn is positioned for a steep growth trajectory that will benefit the entire ecosystem of label partners, brand advertisers, and independent artists to bring content, commerce and culture together.”

  • Pepsi launches ‘How We Do It’ live in Mumbai

    Pepsi launches ‘How We Do It’ live in Mumbai

    MUMBAI: Rapper Badshah and global pop group Now United’s new single, ‘How We Do It’, presented by Pepsi was launched during a love concert at High Street Phoenix in Mumbai recently. The collaboration is a result of Pepsi’s commitment towards discovering and supporting emerging artists, reveals a press statement.

    PepsiCo India director – marketing, hydration and cola Tarun Bhagat said, “Pepsi has always anticipated the pulse of today’s generation ahead of the curve. Music has been one of our biggest platforms globally, and continuing this intrinsic commitment, Pepsi is excited to bring together the incredible musical talent of Indian rapper Badshah and global pop group Now United to provide a new experience for fans. ‘How We Do It’ is an amazing track and we are hopeful that music fans on the lookout for a newer, cooler sounds in India and beyond will love it.”

    Badshah shared with audiences his experience of collaborating with Now United. He said, “Pepsi has always enabled young, upcoming talent and through them, I am getting this fantastic chance to collaborate with 14 young people from across the globe. As an artist, I strongly believe that it is good to collaborate as it helps broaden your horizon. Through ‘How We Do It,’ Now United and I have been able to learn from each other, share experiences and encourage each other to create better art; and we are very excited to share this with all our fans.”

    Badshah and Now United’s new song, ‘How We Do It’, presented by Pepsi and distributed by One Digital Entertainment will premiere on Saavn and Radio One on 29 November, followed by a video premier on MTV Beats and VH1.

  • Airtel, Saavn got special access to users’ data even after 2015: Facebook

    Airtel, Saavn got special access to users’ data even after 2015: Facebook

    MUMBAI: Facebook’s data controversy is engulfing numerous companies including many renowned ones in India. India’s largest telecom Bharti Airtel and music streaming app Saavn were among the firms that could have accessed data of Facebook even after 2015. This revelation has come to light based on submissions made by Facebook to the US Congress.

    In the submission, Facebook named Airtel and 51 other companies for having an “integration partnership”. Facebook authorised those companies to access its user data in order to “recreate Facebook-like experiences”. However, Airtel has claimed the deal ended in 2013.

    “Integration partners were not permitted to use data received through Facebook APIs for independent purposes unrelated to the approved integration without user consent,” Facebook said in the reported submission.

    Saavn was also among the companies which could access details of Facebook users’ friends. While the social media platform announced that data access would be blocked from May 2015, Saavn along with some other app developers were given extra time to become compliant with Facebook’s more restrictive platform API (application programming interface) policy.

    “Such access to information about an app user’s friends required not only the consent of the app user, but also required that the friends whose data would be accessed have their own privacy settings set to permit such access by third-party apps,” Facebook said.

    Since the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, Facebook has been facing tough times regarding data security.

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    Mark Zuckerberg says ‘sorry’ for Facebook’s privacy crisis

  • Reliance Jio makes a punt on tech start-ups

    Reliance Jio makes a punt on tech start-ups

    MUMBAI: After closing Saavn and Embibe deals, Reliance Jio, according to a report published by The Economic Times, is now looking to acquire Indian start-ups in the technology ecosystem.

    In a bid to take on its competition, Reliance Jio is now looking to invest more to create a comprehensive ecosystem of digital products and services around its core telecom service.

    To add more relevant entertainment and education content to its Jio platform, the company is looking to invest in or acquire start-ups operating in the content, healthcare, education technology, financial technology and transportation segments. It might also look at Jio aligning with product technology ventures, particularly those operating in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

    In April, Reliance Jio Music and Saavn leveraged their synergies to jointly strengthen their foothold in the Indian music streaming market. The combined value of the companies has been pegged at $1 billion, out of which Jio Music’s implied valuation is $670 million leaving Saavn at a valuation of $330 million. With this, Reliance also acquired a partial stake in Saavn from its existing shareholders for $104 million.

    Also, soon after this, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) agreed to invest over $180 Mn into AI-based education platform, Embibe over the next three years. This will put RIL in a position to buy out around 72.69% stake from Embibe’s existing investors including Lightbox and Kalaari Capital.

    Leading Jio’s charge into the start-up ecosystem is Akash Ambani, the 27-year-old Brown University-educated older son of Mukesh Ambani. Akash Ambani, chief of strategy at the company, is believed to be deeply involved in the negotiations.

    Also Read :

    Jio Music, Saavn to merge; RIL to invest $100 mn in combined entity

    Jio shifts focus to wired broadband

     

  • Jio Music, Saavn to merge; RIL to invest $100 mn in combined entity

    Jio Music, Saavn to merge; RIL to invest $100 mn in combined entity

    MUMBAI: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has executed definitive agreements for merging its digital music service JioMusic with music over-the-top (OTT) platform Saavn. The combined entity is valued at over $1 billion, with JioMusic’s implied valuation at $670 million.

    According to the release issued by RIL, the integrated business will be developed into a media platform with global reach, cross-border original content, an independent artist marketplace, consolidated data and a mobile advertising medium.

    RIL will also invest up to rupee equivalent of $100 million, out of which $20 million will be invested upfront, for growth and expansion of the platform into one of the largest streaming services in the world. The company will continue to operate the OTT media platform available on all app stores. The three co-founders of Saavn, Rishi Malhotra, Paramdeep Singh and Vinodh Bhat, will continue in their leadership roles and will drive growth of the combined entity.

    In addition, RIL is acquiring partial stake from the existing shareholders of Saavn for $104 million, while these shareholders retain their balance stake. The shareholder base of Saavn includes Tiger Global Management, Liberty Media and Bertelsmann.

    JioMusic has sourced content from all the major Indian and international labels, with over 16 million HD songs across 20 languages.

    The deal will combine the streaming media expertise of Saavn with the connectivity and digital ecosystem of Jio. With a massive addressable market opportunity of over 1 billion users in India and globally, the combined entity plans to invest aggressively to accelerate growth that would benefit all aspects of the ecosystem, including users, music labels, artists and advertisers.

    The combined platform will also build on Saavn’s award-winning original programming, artist originals (AO), which have redefined the development, marketing and distribution of original audio content. Saavn also conceptualises, produces, distributes and licenses original music with independent artists.

    Reliance Jio director Akash Ambani said, “The investment and combination of our music assets with Saavn underlines our commitment to further boost the digital ecosystem and provide unlimited digital entertainment services to consumers over a strong uninterrupted network. We are delighted to announce this partnership with Saavn, and believe that their highly experienced management team will be instrumental in expanding Jio-Saavn to an extensive user base, thereby strengthening our leadership position in the Indian streaming market.”

    Saavn co-founder and CEO Rishi Malhotra added, “Nearly 10 years ago, we had a vision to build a connected music platform, dedicated to South Asian culture across the globe. Vin, Param and I always envisioned the company for the long term with intense focus on products, data, and ground-breaking original content. Our alignment with Reliance enables us to create one of the largest, fastest-growing, and most capable media platforms in the world.”

  • OTT trumps TV by 44 min among youth: Chrome DM

    OTT trumps TV by 44 min among youth: Chrome DM

    BENGALURU: Online was larger of the two platforms for consumption of content by youngsters who consumed content only on television or only online in India, a Chrome Data Analytics and Media (Chrome) “OTT Consumption” study has revealed.

    The average daily time spent on content consumption online was 44 minutes higher than the average daily time spent on content consumption on television. Chrome’s survey included 2,505 respondents of which 28 per cent were aged between 15 and 24 years and 72 per cent were in the age group of 25 to 34. 49 per cent of the respondents were male and 51 per cent were female.

    Television versus online

    According to the study, 16 per cent of the respondents consumed content only on online devices, while only two per cent said that they consumed content on television alone. 81 per cent of the respondents said that they consumed content on both the platforms.

    Consumption patterns by respondents who used both platforms for content consumption

    2,054 respondents consumed content both on television and online.

    Genres consumption

    A mobile phone was the preferred device for music consumption among respondents who used both platforms. Eighty three per cent of the 2,054 respondents said that they consumed music on mobile phones as compared to 34 per cent that said that they also consumed music on television and 17 per cent who said that they also used a desktop/laptop for listening to music.

    In the case of movies, television was the preferred device with 66 per cent saying that they watched movies on television as compared to 39 per cent who watched movies on mobile phones and 29 per cent who watched movies on a desktop/laptop.

    Television was also the preferred device for news consumption, with 64 per cent watching it on television and 29 per cent who also watched it on a mobile phone and 9 per cent who also consumed news on a desktop/laptop.

    Seventy four per cent of the respondents consumed sports content on television. 21 per cent and 14 per cent also consumed it on mobile phone and desktop/laptop respectively.

    Sixty nine per cent consumed GEC content on television, and 17 and 6 per cent watched it on mobile phone and desktop/laptop respectively.

    Daily time spent on the mediums

    The average daily time spent online by the 2,054 respondents who consumed content on both television and online was 1 hour 37 minutes on television and 2 hours and 21 minutes online.

    Twenty nine per cent spent less that 30 minutes viewing television, 39 per cent spent between 1 and 2 hours viewing television daily; 26 per cent spent between 2 and 3 hours daily watching television, 3 per cent spent 3 to 5 hours viewing television daily and 3 per cent spent more than 5 hours on daily television viewing.

    Comparative numbers for online consumption of content were: 23 per cent spent each less than 30 minutes daily and between 1 and 2 hours daily; 29 per cent spent between 2 and 3 hours daily; 9 per cent spent between 3 and 5 hours and 17 per cent spent more than five hours on online content consumption daily.

    Frequency

    Seventy four per cent of were daily watchers of television and 26 per cent had no fixed routine for watching television. 77 per cent watched content online daily; 14 per cent watched content online during weekends and 9 per cent had no fixed routines.

    Apps

    YouTube was the preferred app for consumption of all types and genres of content. Other apps/websites such as hotstar, JioTV, Eros Now, Voot, gaana, saavn, Wynk Music, Sony Liv, TOI and NDTV were used for different content genres.

    Top three apps for music consumption

    The top three apps for Hindi music consumption were YouTube, Hungama and gaana , while for English music consumption they were YouTube, Wynk Music and gaana. In the case of Regional Music, the top three apps were YouTube, saavn and JioTV

    Top three Movie apps

    The top three apps for Hindi content consumption were YouTube, hotstar and Eros Now, for both English and Regional content they were YouTube, hotstar and JioTV.

    Top three GEC apps

    The top three apps for Hindi GEC content were YouTube, hotstar and Voot, while for English and Regional content they were YouTube, hotstar and JioTV.

    Top 3 sports apps.

    The top 3 sports apps were YouTube, hotstar and Sony Liv

    Top 3 News apps/websites

    The top 3 News apps/websites were YouTube, NDTV and TOI

    Top 3 apps for Online exclusive content

    The top 3 apps for online exclusive content were YouTube, Hotstar and Voot

  • Now, stream Saavn’s Unlimited Music in Canada sans data use

    MUMBAI: Saavn, south Asia’s leading digital music streaming service, is being added to the list of music streaming apps included in Videotron’s Unlimited Music service, bringing the total number of supported apps to 19. Saavn, an audio entertainment streaming platform featuring Bollywood, Hindi and Indian regional music, is currently accessed in 196 countries and offers 30 million tracks in 13 languages. 

    Unlimited Music lets Videotron customers stream music using popular music apps such as Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Deezer and Stingray Music without using up any of their data plan. Videotron, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc., is an integrated communications company engaged in cable television, interactive multimedia development, Internet access, cable telephone and mobile telephone services. 

    “Saavn enriches Unlimited Music’s offerings, opening up a whole new world of music,” said Videotron VP marketing Bertrand Hébert. “We are constantly innovating for our consumers and this partnership with Videotron allows us to reach out to their wide network with our content offerings and large music library,” said Saavn VP – carrier partnerships Gairik Bhattacharya. “We hope listening to Saavn will enhance and elevate the experience for users in Canada.” he added.

    Unlimited Music is available across Videotron’s LTE network, which covers nearly 90% of Québec’s population and supports speeds of up to 150 Mbps. It is a free service for all subscribers to a Premium mobile plan.

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  • One Digital launches ‘Hip Hop Highway’ on Saavn

    MUMBAI: In an effort to amplify its efforts in catapulting India’s burgeoning hip hop story, Saavn and One Digital have launched their new audio show, Hip Hop Highway. The show will have 12 episodes, releasing a 25 to 30 minute episode each Wednesday starting from today.

    Listeners will hear from Indian artists, promoters, labels, producers, and upcoming talent as they discuss all aspects of the hip hop genre. Mixing in-studio sessions and on-site interviews, listeners can expect an authentic, off-the-cuff conversation on the role desi hip hop has come to play in India’s popular culture.

    “With Hip Hop Highway we want to trace the origins of the genre in the country, with artists relating their journeys to the top. What was once deemed a subculture has today successfully become mainstream Indian music and Saavn is delighted to be the first audio streaming service to tell this story,” said Saavn co-founder and executive chairman Paramdeep Singh. “Hip Hop Highway will be incredibly artist centric and give major up-and-coming talent the opportunity to share their craft and stories with Saavn’s growing listenership base. Considering One Digital Entertainment’s extensive work on the hip hop scene, we are happy to partner them on this property”.

    Hosted by Raaj Jones, the first episode will feature Indian rapper Raftaar and British-Indian DJ & Radio presenter Bobby Friction.

    With Hip Hop Highway, listeners will be privy to a range of conversations, from insights into the evolution of desi hip hop to the international scene, and exclusive unreleased tracks to live performances from their favourite hip hop artists. Week on week, the off-centre yet revolutionary audio show will have various artists including Badshah, Divine and Naezy, among others.

    One Digital Entertainment co-founder and COO Gurpreet Singh Bhasin added, “This audio show is novel in more ways than one. Not only is it the first show dedicated to a specific music genre, it is also a step forward in strengthening the original audio content domain in the country. We are delighted to collaborate with Saavn on this as they make for one of the perfect partners, with them being the people behind the best audio entertainment in the industry”.

    Unlike other global markets, India’s uniquely film-centric music scene leaves independent artists with little support and limited opportunities to access larger audiences. As part of their larger objective, Saavn teams up with One Digital Entertainment to access the alternative mediums in which desi hip hop artists often make their debut. Choosing to showcase the lives and artistry of India’s hip hop legends is an unconventional method that has worked extremely well for Saavn in the recent past, with programs like AiR (Artists in Residence) and RMX giving non-film musicians both the tools and the global stage required to grow their fan base independent of the Bollywood music scene.

    Saavn launched Saavn Originals in April 2016 in a bid to expand their repertoire of content to include a cutting-edge collection of original, long-form audio programs for its worldwide user base.