.@Spotify, a Swedish company, is expected to launch in India within the next 6 months, per Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw. But it may face challenges: "Streaming services have about 100 million users in India, but a tiny fraction pay for the services."
.@YouTube is the "most popular online music source in the country," in part because it's free. It's grown so big that one of India's largest record labels @TSeries is expected to surpass the most-subscribed-to YouTube channel in the world, @pewdiepie.
Between the lines:
Compared to China, India is a much more lenient entry-point from a regulatory perspective. Recent trade tensions between China and US have helped strengthen the trade relationship between China and India.
Compared to China, India is a much more lenient entry-point from a regulatory perspective. Recent trade tensions between China and US have helped strengthen the trade relationship between China and India.
India's slow middle class growth means fewer internet users are willing to pay for subscription services. Language and cultural differences can also be a challenge.
Language barriers also presented a barrier to digital growth in India, which hosts hundreds of dialects and over 20 official languages. Today, voice technologies and AI help bring down those barriers to entry, though there are still difficulties with content production.
Twenty-first Century Fox (@21CF)-owned TV streaming company @hotstartweets is by far the biggest over-the-top TV provider in India with roughly 100 million subscribers, followed by @justvoot, which is jointly-owned by @Viacom and Mumbai's TV18.
