JioMusic, Saavn combine to create South Asia’s largest music platform, JioSaavn
07 Dec 2018
1
Saavn Media Private Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), on Wednesday announced the integration of Jio Music and Sava, to create JioSaavn, which it claims to be South Asia’s largest streaming, entertainment and artist platform.
JioSaavn represents the official integration of Jio Infocomm’s music app, JioMusic, and Saavn, India’s leading global over-the-top platform.
The integrated JioSaavn app will be available across all App stores including the Jio app store, on JioPhone, as well as, at the web sites of Jio and Saavn, a Reliance Industries release stated.
As announced in March 2018 at the time of acquisition of Saavn by Reliance Industries Ltd, the implied valuation of the combined entity at over US$1 billion makes it the most valuable music streaming platform in South Asia, and among the most popular in the world.
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.
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 release stated.
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 this launch, Jio users will also get a 90-day extended free trial of JioSaavn Pro, the streaming service’s 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. Powered by Jio’s advanced digital services infrastructure and complemented by its widespread user base, JioSaavn will be the largest streaming platform in India,” Akash Ambani, director, Reliance Jio, said while speaking at the launch of JioSaavn.
JioSaavn will continue to build on Saavn’s groundbreaking original programming and artist development platform, Artist Originals (AO). Saavn’s Original Programming, he added.
The Saavn co-founders – Rishi Malhotra, Paramdeep Singh and Vinodh Bhat – 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.
“Since announcing our merger in March 2018, the Jio and Saavn teams have been working to integrate and reimagine a combined platform in JioSaavn. Today, we have one of the most personalised and capable media platforms in the world, an unmatched content catalog, regionalised editorial and original programming and music that’s redefining how artists and creators connect directly with audiences worldwide,” Rishi Malhotra, co-founder and CEO, JioSaavn, stated.
“The launch of JioSaavn marks a new era for music streaming in India and, the global music industry at large. Combining the scale and quality of the Jio network with our highly engaged product experience, JioSaavn is positioned for a steep growth trajectory that will benefit the entire ecosystem of label partners, brand advertisers, and independent artists to bring content, commerce and culture together,” added Paramdeep Singh, co-founder and executive vice chairman of JioSaavn.
