Lately, India's multi-crore music industry is witnessing a lot of activity; within a few weeks after the debut of Spotify, search engine giant Google has officially joined the race with the launch of YouTube Music service.
"We are introducing YouTube Music, our made-for-music app with the magic of YouTube: making the world of music easier to explore and more personalized than ever to users in India. The days of jumping back and forth between multiple music apps and YouTube are over. Whether you want to listen, watch or discover, it's all here," Google India said.
Like in the western markets, Google's YouTube Music will offer the customers to choose two options, free service with ads and ad-free Premium service with subscription fees of Rs 99 per month. It also entitles download option for the consumers.
Google's YouTube Music will offer local music playlist including Bollywood Hotlist, Upbeat Hindi Retro, Cosmic Indie Pop, Kollywood Hotlist, Tollywood Hotlist and yes, it will give access to international artist such as 'Featuring Drake' playlist and several others.
Google has also introduced YouTube Premium on the lines of Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, offering videos, and originals such as Cobra Kai, BTS: Burn The Stage. Interested consumers can avail it for Rs 129 per month.
Key aspects of YouTube Music:
- Latest songs: YouTube Music offers remixes, cover albums, singles, live versions from the biggest international and national artists to freshest voices breaking through. Right now, it features Luka Chuppi, Petta - Marana Mass Official Video, Thassadiyya Full Video Song.
- Smart search: YouTube Music search is intelligent enough to come up with correct songs, even if users don't know exactly what they're looking for. They can just describe the song. For instance, users can try typing that hipster song with the whistling or type a part of the lyrics, it will come up with near accurate results, Google claims
- Fully personalised recommendations: It also offers customised home screen, which dynamically adapts to provide recommendations based on people's listening history, where they are and what they're doing. For instance, if you are in the gym workin' out or escaping during your daily commute, you will get well-curated songs YouTube Music app.
Google has partnered Samsung to offer YouTube Music on Samsung Galaxy S10 series. Customers can enjoy 4 months of free, uninterrupted access to YouTube Premium, including YouTube Music.
Both Google YouTube Music and YouTube Premium apps are available for download on both Google Play Store for Android mobiles and on Apple App store for iOS-based iPhones and iPads.
With the entry of Google YouTube Music, the Indian market is now getting crowded and the price war is likely to happen sooner than later, as local player Saavn merged with Reliance JioMusic to become a JioSaavn, one of the biggest music services in South Asia. Even Apple Music is vying for a bigger pie in the lucrative Indian market.
It can be noted that another telecom major Vodafone is also planning to launch its own Music app similar to Airtel's Wynk. There were reports of Gaana might get acquired by Vodafone Idea, but there is no official word on it.
Even Amazon Prime Music is also adding more and more regional content into its app to attract the South Indian populace. Ultimately the customers are the winner in this battle, as they will be spoilt for choices.
