Spotify Technology, the company engaged in the music streaming services on Wednesday said that it is “playing the long game” in the Indian market. The development was shared by Paul Vogel, CFO of Spotify Technology at the Goldman Sachs 29th Annual Communacopia Virtual Conference. Vogel said that “India is a unique market” and that the companies entering the Indian market should be prepared to play the “long game.” The company in early September announced that India is among the top markets where its users listen to “most music” using the Spotify Lite app.
Spotify Says India is a Unique Market
The Spotify Lite app is said to be available in 37 countries across the globe and is said to be designed for areas with “limited bandwidth and phone storage.”
“I would say, first off, it's a market where, you're playing the long game, right, you're getting at the end, you're not expecting that this is something you're going to necessarily, quote unquote, win in a couple of years or, have it just decided,” Vogel said. “It's going to be a long game. And that going in, if you're not prepared for that, then you, you shouldn't go in there.”
Further, Vogel said that the company believes that “there’s probably more overlap” with users in India using multiple streaming services as compared to its users in other markets.
“It is a unique market because it's the only market where we're in where the free business pretty much has the exact same functionality as a premium business just with ads, right,” Vogel said. “So, you've got full on demand rights. And as a result, it allows people to sample and test in and use more services.”
Spotify Feels Good About its Growth in Indian Market
Vogel said that the company feels about its growth in Indian market till date despite the market being unique.
“We feel like it's still [a] market where we can be really successful,” Vogel said. “And as I said, we're playing the long game there. The expectation is that that's what it takes [to] be successful.”
The company in early September also announced that it has reduced the size of the Spotify Lite app by 15% enabling users to “save more space.” The streaming platform is said to host more than 60 million tracks and 1.5 million podcasts.
