Music streaming service Spotify says it has grown faster since Apple Music’s launch, in June last year. Speaking to Reuters, Spotify VP, Jonathan Forster, said that Apple’s entry into the market has raised the profile of streaming. While Apple Music, reportedly, has 13 million paid users, Spotify currently has 30 million paid subscribers. In addition, the music streaming service hasn’t yet entered India and many other countries either.
Apple, though, is not Spotify’s only competitor. Spotify faces competition from Pandora, in the US, along with Tidal, the streaming service started by musician Jay Z. Google has also entered the market with YouTube Music and Google Play Music.
What’s worth noting is that Spotify’s competitors will only grow, once it enters Asia, particularly India. Services like Gaana, Saavn and Wynk have already built a following in the country, backed by firms like Times Music and Airtel. According to a report by Techcrunch, from March 2016, Spotify may be planning to enter Asian markets soon.
The service, which already has 100 million users (in total), will stand to grow further from markets like India. But, Indian services mentioned above will have a headstart that Spotify will have to make up for. The competition for Spotify will not be the same as Netflix, since Spotify can’t quite promise content that Netflix did. Wynk, Apple Music, Gaana and others have pretty vast collections, which means that Spotify will have to depend on its superior algorithms and features to gain a user base here.
Further, in a conversation with Rdio some time back, we were told that not many Indian users were paying for the service, choosing the free versions instead. Given that Spotify’s revenues come primarily from subscriptions, this could be yet another roadblock.
That said, if Spotify hopes to continue its lead over Apple Music, entering the Asian, and especially Indian market, is inevitable. Apple Music is already available in 100 countries, while Spotify’s website currently lists on 65 countries. The wide reach of Apple’s iPhones will help the company grow its reach faster, which means Spotify will have to make the most of its reach as well.