U.S. based Rdio has become the first global music streaming service to launch in India. Much like Rdio's offerings elsewhere, India's massive user base can access free radio-like streams or upgrade to a full on-demand premium subscription service, which in India will cost just $1.99 US a month. The expansion into India has been expected since Rdio acquired troubled Indian streaming music service Dhingana in March of 2014.
Dhingana was India's largest music service with 10 million users when it announced last February that it would soon shut down.
Rdio has a catalog of 32 million songs in 43 languages across global, regional, and local labels including Sony Music, Warner Music, Universal alongside local labels Yash Raj and T-Series.
“India is the fastest growing Internet market in the world with one of the most vibrant cultures for music. We have built a strong local organization here, which is now our largest office and team outside the US,” Anthony Bay, CEO of Rdio told Tech In Asia.
"Over the past seven years, my brother and I have dedicated our lives to bringing millions of users the diverse and wonderful music of India,” said Snehal Shinde, VP of Emerging Markets at Rdio (Co-founder of Dhingana). “Last year Rdio acquired Dhingana and we set out to marry our Indian expertise and experience with the best global music platform. We are proud now to introduce Rdio to India, a world class product that delivers a global music service with a localized user experience for music fans in India and abroad."
Low Priced StreamingRdio will face plenty of locla competition including Gaana, Saavn, Wynk Music, and Hungama who offer music streaming for between $1.78 and $3.5 US monthly. Australian based streaming service Guvera launched in India last November.
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