JioMusic, Saavn merge to create South Asia's largest music platform

The new platform, JioSaavn, is available across App stores and boasts a catalog of more than 45 million songs and original content

Music streaming platform Saavn, now a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), on Tuesday launched JioSaavn, which according to the company is South Asia’s largest streaming, entertainment and artist platform.

JioSaavn represents the official integration of JioMusic and Saavn, one of India’s leading global over-the-top (OTT) platforms. The new JioSaavn app will be available across app stores like Jio app store, JioPhone, and www.jio.com/jiosaavn.

RIL had in March this year acquired Saavn and the combined valuation claimed by the company for JioSaavn is around $1 billion. “Powered by Jio’s advanced digital services infrastructure and complemented by its widespread user base, JioSaavn will be the largest streaming platform in India,” said Reliance Jio Director Akash Ambani.

Saavn co-founders Rishi Malhotra, Paramdeep Singh and Vinodh Bhat will continue in their leadership roles to drive the growth of the company. JioSaavn’s team of more than 200 employees also continues to operate out of its five global offices at Mountain View and New York in the United States, and Bengaluru, Gurugram, and Mumbai in India.

According to a recent BCG report, revenues from OTT content globally has seen a compound annual growth rate of over 40 per cent between 2005 and 2017. They are expected to see a growth rate of 20 per cent in the 2017-2023 period, while 16 per cent of media consumption in India is already on digital media at present. The Indian music streaming industry itself has a user base of over 100 million and it is growing 35 per cent year on year in revenue. The industry mainly consists of four large players — Gaana, JioMusic, Airtel’s Wynk and Saavn.

Earlier this year, RIL also acquired a 5 per cent stake in Eros International and announced plans to consolidate content within the company.

JioSaavn combines the streaming media expertise of Saavn with Jio’s digital services ecosystem. Jio is India’s largest digital services network with over 252 million subscribers. The integrated app has a massive addressable market opportunity both in India as well as for the Indian diaspora.

The digital music streaming industry in India has seen competition hotting up since last year with the entry of Amazon Music.

With the integrated JioSaavn app, users can expect a suite of new in-app products and music experiences, including an interactive lyrics feature, localised vernacular display, custom integrations with concerts and live events, as well as exclusive video content to roll out over the next few months.

The service will be offered on a freemium model in India, with all users having access to the ad-supported product. Jio subscribers would enjoy seamless access to the integrated app. Additionally, as part of a launch offer, Jio users are to also get a 90-day extended free trial of JioSaavn Pro, which is a premium product.

“JioSaavn represents a turning point for the music streaming industry in India, as the country continues to experience accelerated tech innovation, rapid adoption of digital services, and a digital music industry at par with global leaders,” said Ambani.