India is ready for a paid-only model if music streaming platforms Spotify and JioSaavn also go behind a paywall, like Amazon, Apple, and Gaana, said Vikram Mehra, Managing Director of Saregama, during the third-quarter FY26 (Q3FY26) earnings call. He estimated that India could generate Rs 90-100 per user per month, with at least 100 million potential paid subscribers.
“The two big platforms [JioSaavn & Spotify] that still have a free service are making moves right now to push the paid subscription part. This is great news, though slow, but in a steady fashion, we are seeing a transition happening from the free to the paid side,” he commented, addressing the push for paid models from Indian audio streaming services.
Why does Saregama bet on a paid-only model?
Saregama’s inclination toward paid-only models is particularly significant, given that only three major music streaming services in India — Spotify, JioSaavn, and YouTube Music — continue to offer a freemium model with a free ad-supported tier and an ad-free paid tier.
During the earnings call, Mehra addressed the lack of diversity in the music streaming business and the revenue loss the company faced after Airtel shut down Wynk in 2024. Similarly, in May 2025, the managing director of Saregama also said that the shutdown of Hungama and Resso had affected the company’s revenues.
Referring to the potential of paid models, Mehra has consistently expressed his belief that subscription-based streaming represents the future of India’s music industry. The Investor presentation for this quarter also presented a few figures to demonstrate India’s “untapped potential” in paid subscriptions. India sits at just 1%, far below developed markets such as Sweden (50%), the US (42%), and the UK (38%). Even compared to other emerging markets like Brazil and China (both at 13%). The chart suggests that while global average penetration is around 13%, India remains at a very early stage, indicating substantial room for paid models.
Using GenAI to Refresh Older Catalogue
Mehra also explained how the company is leveraging generative AI licensing tools in their new vertical to create the new music videos from their older catalogue of songs.
“The good part is that the use of generative AI video generation tools for these older songs has helped us drastically reduce both time and cost to release these videos. Something that used to take 10 to 12 days through the earlier possible tools or if we had to shoot, used to take up to 15 days, including editing, can now easily be done in less than 3 days.” – Vikram Mehra
The company’s push to modernise its old catalogue through AI was also echoed by Sanjiv Goenka, chairperson of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG). RPSG is the parent company of Saregama. “Most of our catalogue, we are using AI to do fresh videos. All the classics… You will now have AI-generated videos…
Source link
Disclaimer
We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We blogs.grocliq.com want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It’s possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.
Website Upgradation is going on for any glitch kindly connect at [email protected]
