February 12, 2025

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Special Battling to survive, Tencent-backed Indian new music application Gaana turns to subscriptions

Special Battling to survive, Tencent-backed Indian new music application Gaana turns to subscriptions

NEW DELHI, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Tencent-backed Indian music streaming app Gaana has switched to a compensated membership design to avoid closing down following failing to safe refreshing money or locate a consumer, according to an email sent to some music companions noticed by Reuters.

Gaana, also backed by India’s Instances World-wide-web, claimed in the e-mail that talks with a probable acquirer experienced “fallen through,” without naming the other social gathering.

Two sources with immediate understanding of the make a difference told Reuters the talks had been with Indian telecom big Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS). Airtel did not right away respond to an emailed request for comment.

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Gaana competes with the likes of Spotify (Location.N), Apple Songs and Airtel’s Wynk songs application in an Indian streaming market place estimated by details organization Statista to be value $700 million this calendar year.

In the electronic mail despatched this 7 days, Gaana’s head of written content and partnerships, Sachin Kamble, explained the corporation experienced not been capable to “deliver in new investments” and sought help for a new paid design of the service.

“Now we are at (a) crossroads – wind down/locate a way to go on … we have made the decision to give this one more test. For this reason, we have closed streaming for cost-free end users now and (are) moving to paid only design,” Kamble wrote in the e mail.

“We will need to have your support on this, else we will have to shut down entirely.”

Gaana CEO Sandeep Lodha explained to Reuters in a text concept: “We are not shutting down”. Kamble declined to remark.

Requested about the e mail, a Gaana spokesperson explained in a statement the information was sent to tunes associates “in the class of private negotiations” to shut agreements.

“These statements are becoming read out of context. Gaana is a potent enterprise that is expanding its concentrate on subscription enterprise with an intent to be a long lasting company for years to appear,” it additional.

Tencent (0700.HK) and Times Internet did not instantly reply to requests for comment.

As of Friday, Gaana’s tunes app was not letting free streaming for customers, featuring monthly designs commencing at 99 Indian rupees ($1.24). The application has additional than 100 million end users.

In 2020, the company was valued at far more than $500 million, according to Indian tech information web-site Entracker.

Just one of the sources reported Gaana had struggled to raise income from traders, which include China’s Tencent. Considering the fact that 2020, India has elevated scrutiny of investments from nations around the world with which it shares a land border – such as China – to prevent opportunistic takeovers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The crackdown deepened after a border clash between India and China afterwards that 12 months, which has due to the fact held up billions of dollars of funds inflows to the car and know-how sectors among some others.

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Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil in New Delhi Enhancing by Sanjeev Miglani and Mark Potter

Our Expectations: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.