A Stream Come True: Spotify Celebrates 2 Years in India

Can you believe it? It’s already been two years since Spotify launched in India, and during this time, the audio streaming platform has consistently focused on giving local listeners the content and experience that makes them want to keep coming back for more. We’ve taken this opportunity to highlight Spotify India’s milestones and consumption trends, much of which has led to an increase in its brand love since launch. 

I WANT IT ALL - MUSIC & PODCASTS

• On an average, a Spotify listener in India streamed nearly 150 artists and 3 podcasts last year, highlighting the extent to which discovering new audio content is popular (Feb 2020 - Feb 2021).
• Listeners streamed happier music in 2020 than in 2019. The average happiness rating¹ of all music streams increased 2% on Spotify India during this time (Feb 2019-2020 compared to Feb 2020-2021).
• The year was also a happy one for India’s independent artists, as Spotify’s playlist Indie India grew by a whopping 90% year on year (Feb 2020 - Feb 2021). RADAR India saw a more than 500% increase in followers since its launch in May 2020.
• Other Spotify playlists that have grown the most year-on-year include Bollywood Dance Music, Top Hits Hindi, Latest Tamil, Latest Telugu, and Hot Hits India.
• Currently, 90% of podcast listeners from India are under the age of 35.
• Today, 70% of listeners who stream podcasts on Spotify, love pop music! 

SHINING BRIGHT - CREATORS ON SPOTIFY

• Over 10,000 Indian artists have claimed their Spotify for Artists profile since launch, and 600+ playlists (up 5x since launch) have been locally curated by Spotify’s in-house editors featuring several of these artists.
• 4000+ local artists have attended the Spotify Masterclasses since launch, equipping them with insights and tools to make the most of their music and profile on the platform.
• Last year, more than 20 artists from India featured in several Spotify global playlists. This included Antariksh, Abhilasha Sinha, Sandunes, and Sarathy Korwar, among others, who were able to increase their discoverability among listeners outside the country.
• The number of podcasts created on Anchor in India have increased 80x in a span of one year (Feb 2020 - Feb 2021).

“Spotify is deeply invested in the global audio streaming ecosystem, and aims to become the world's first true audio platform. To make this happen in India, we are building a borderless audio ecosystem at two levels - a seamless experience at a local level, through our product, content, and access to the right tools, and at a global level, through strategic interventions where we can take Indian talent to international listeners. We are here for the long term, and there is no doubt that India has been one our fastest growing and most important markets”, said Gustav Gyllenhammar, VP - Markets & Subscriber Growth at Spotify.

Amarjit Singh Batra, Managing Director - India, Spotify said, “India is a vast and diverse market, and the love for audio runs deep. Over two years, we’ve gained insights on how our listeners here consume music and podcasts, and tapped into these learnings to establish a deep relationship with listeners, creators, and brands. Through 2020, we dove deeper into local languages and regions with our communication, content, and curation. As a result, Spotify was streamed in over 3000 cities in India.”

“Since launch, our goal has been to grow the market, and to become the destination of choice for audio fans. As listeners discover and share their favourite music and podcasts, the awareness and consumption in the country will only grow. Spotify also wants to become the destination for creators, and we have and will continue to invest in masterclasses for artists and labels, and workshops for podcast creators, via Anchor, to achieve that”,  he added. 

WE LOVE YOU FOR LOVING SPOTIFY  

Spotify’s internal research shows that love for the brand has increased more than 3x in India, since launch, and while much of its initial growth was driven by younger consumers, last year saw a notable increase in brand love² among those aged 35+. Infact, brand love doubled among the 35+ age group between January of last year and this year. In addition, of those surveyed, more than 50% stated that Spotify is the only service they need for listening to music, and that they believed Spotify helped make moments in their life better. 

WHAT’S IN STORE: STREAM ON 

Looking ahead, we will continue its ongoing commitment to building a truly borderless audio ecosystem, and Spotify will soon be available to more than a billion people in 80+ new markets around the world. Other key takeaways from our global Stream On event include:

• More fantastic content, both global and local, coming your way: Spotify announced a new podcast ‘Renegades: Born in the USA’ hosted by President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen, provided insights into how audio will add a new dimension to the DC Comics Universe, and a brand new partnership with AGBO, Anthony and Joe Russo’s entertainment company. In India, Spotify will soon launch its next set of Original podcasts, including I Hear You, Phobia, and Jurm Live. On the music front, Spotify will focus on deeper, more active curation of music in regional languages such as Kannada, Bhojpuri, and Bengali, among others.

• Creator voices will amplify with Sound Up & more: India is one of the 8 new markets in 2021 where Spotify will expand its Sound Up initiative to represent underrepresented podcasters. In addition, a new partnership between Anchor and WordPress will enable bloggers to publish their written content as a podcast with just a few clicks—and podcasters can publish their episodes as written blog posts just as easily. 

• Spotify will soon be available in your language: As a part of Spotify’s effort to continue localising the product and making audio streaming more accessible, we are launching in 36 new languages across the world, including 12 languages in India - Hindi, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, and Bengali.

Keep an eye out for more from Spotify - there’s always something new!