Only two weeks after Spotify launched its services in India, the music streaming industry in the country sees another worthy competitor entering the fray in the form of YouTube Music. With the likes of Apple Music, Gaana, Amazon Music, Wynk and more, the streaming music space has become quite crowded, and with the merger of Jio and Saavn forming JioSaavn, the Indian audience has almost too many options to choose from.
While it is true that Spotify bags the title of the most subscribed music streaming platform in the world, dwarfing industry heavyweights such as Apple, Google, Gaana and JioSaavn, YouTube Music is backed by, well… YouTube. With nearly 2 billion users on the platform and an infinitely deep well of content to draw on, YouTube is the biggest platform for streaming music. A recent report has indicated that YouTube is the most popular platform for streaming music in India followed by Jio Music and Google Play in 2018.
In a market as diverse as India, Spotify will find it difficult to serve everyone. Apps like Gaana and JioSaavnoffer music in more than 15 languages while Spotify is bringing up the rear with content in just 7 languages. YouTube, on the other hand, has content in nearly every language you can think off because, well, anyone with access to YouTube can upload something. Better yet, the music videos are just a swipe away.
When we come to pricing, it appeared last month that Spotify had done well. The Swedish music streaming service offered packs which start from Rs 13 per day, Rs 119 per month (Rs 129 prepaid monthly) and Rs 1,189 per year. There is also a 50 percent student discount available on the monthly subscription package. Now YouTube has challenged it with a Rs 99 monthly pack for its YouTube Music app and Rs 129 for the YouTube Premium service, which should basically put Spotify out of commission.
Here’s a comparison table listing out what each of the major streaming giants has to offer:
| Streaming Service | YouTube Music | Spotify | Google Music | JioSaavn | Amazon Music | Gaana | Apple Music |
| Subscriber Count | Unknown | 207 million (paid 97 million) | 50 million Plus | 100 million Plus | 100 million Plus | 80 million | 56 million |
| Pricing | Rs 99 for 1 month | Rs 13 for 1 day; Rs 119 for 1 month; Rs 1,189 for 1 year | Rs 99 for 1 month | Rs 5 for 1 day; Rs 99 for 1 month; Rs 999 for 1 year | Rs 999 for 1 year (included with Prime) | Rs 99 for 1 month; Rs 999 for 1 year | Rs 120 for 1 month |
| Family Plan | Rs 129 (up to 6 people) | No | Rs 190 (up to 6 people) | No | No | Rs 499 (up to 5 people) | Rs 190 (up to 6 people) |
| Free Features | Listen to all tracks with ads | Listen to all tracks with ads after every sixth song | Listen to curated playlists, Upload your own music | Listen to tracks with ads, Lyrics | No | Listen to tracks with ads, Lyrics | No |
| Paid features | Unlimited ad-free tracks, full-range of curated playlists, recommended playlists, Download songs offline, Unlimited Radio, Music Videos | Unlimited ad-free tracks, unlimited skips, full-range of curated playlists, Download songs offline, HD Audio | Unlimited ad-free tracks, full-range of curated playlists, YouTube Music, Unlimited Radio, Download songs offline | Unlimited ad-free tracks, Download songs offline, HD Audio | Unlimited ad-free tracks, Download songs offline, HD Audio | Unlimited ad-free tracks, Download songs offline, HD Audio | Unlimited ad-free tracks, Download songs offline, HD Audio |
| Max Devices | 5 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 6 | ||
| Offline downloads | 50,000 | 10,000 | 50,000 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Music Collection | NA | 40 million plus | 40 million | 45 million | 40 million | 45 million | 50 million |
| Android/iOS/Desktop app | Yes | Yes | Yes (No official desktop app) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (via iTunes on desktop) |
| Maximum Streaming bitrate | TBC | 320 kbps (paid); 96 kbps (mobile unpaid); 160 kbps (PC unpaid) | 320 kbps (all) | 320 kbps (paid); 160 kbps (unpaid) | 320 kbps | 320 kbps (paid); 160 kbps (unpaid) | 256 kbps (AAC) |
| Free trial period | 3 months | 30 days | 30 days | 90 days | No | 30 days | 90 days |
| Podcast support | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Languages | NA | 7 | NA | 15 | 10 | 21 | NA |