Spotify has finally launched in India, following a long wait and a whole variety of legal arguments.
The company will now let people sign up and get access to a version of Spotify that is “tuned to Indian music fans’ personal tastes”, including special features that have been created for the country.
Spotify has been rumoured to be on its way into India for months. But it has been hit by a number of fallouts with record labels and other important companies that have threatened to derail the release.
Those problems appear now to have been solved and the company’s catalogue includes more than 40 million songs, which it said include “the hottest Indian and international music”.
Spotify will be less expensive in India than in other markets.
The premium service will begin at 119 rupees, which is roughly equivalent to $1.67 – in the US it costs $9.99, and the same price in pounds in the UK.
It will also offer its free service, as in other markets. That will allow people to choose songs for the first time on smartphones, it said, in comparison with most other markets where the mobile and free version of Spotify can only be used to choose radio stations.
Special features created for India include music recommendations that make use of the variety of languages spoken in India.
Users can choose their preferred language or languages from Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu, and will get tailored playlists and recommendations accordingly.
There will also be a host of playlists specifically created to showcase Indian music. In addition, there will be playlists highlighting songs from the most popular Bollywood, Tollywood, Kollywood, and Punjabi actors.
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