Spotify loses access to major Indian label

Saregama India

25/04/2019 08:25

BENGALURU, April 25 (Reuters) - Music streaming service
Spotify Technology SA  SPOT.N  said it will remove all songs
belonging to one of India's oldest record labels from its app
after they failed to agree on licensing terms, months after the
Swedish company's launch in the country.
    According to a court document, Saregama India Ltd  SARE.NS 
filed a petition with the Delhi High Court seeking an injunction
against Spotify to stop it from using its songs. (https://bit.ly/2vnNssc)
    The move comes two months after Spotify launched in India, a
price sensitive market already crowded by well-funded local
players like JioSaavn and Apple Music.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N20M44V
    According to the court document dated April 23, Spotify's
senior counsel said the streaming service would remove all
Saregama songs from its app within 10 days.
   Spotify said last month it had more than 1 million unique
users in India across its free and premium categories within a
week of its launch. The company offers a free version supported
by ads and a premium ad-free variant that charges users 119
rupees ($1.68) per month.
    Spotify declined to comment, while Saregama did not
immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

 (Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by
Shounak Dasgupta)
 ((chandini.m@thomsonreuters.com; +91-82-6749-7919; Reuters
Messaging: chandini.m.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))