It looks like Bharti Airtel is adding more bundled digital services for its Indian consumers. According to reports, the telecom operator has extended its collaboration with Apple, which was previously restricted to postpaid and broadband consumers, by providing free access to Apple Music for its prepaid customers.
The action was taken only a few weeks after Airtel gained notoriety for giving its customers free access to the premium artificial intelligence application Perplexity AI Pro. Telecom Talk was the first to notice that some Airtel prepaid users have started to see the Apple Music offer within the Airtel Thanks app. Users can take advantage of the streaming service for free for a maximum of six months, according to the banner.
How Long Will Airtel’s Free Apple Music Subscription Last?
The subscription will automatically renew at INR 119 per month after the free period expires. Details regarding the eligibility requirements are still unknown, as Airtel has not yet made a formal announcement. To find out if the perk is accessible for their account, consumers can log into the Airtel Thanks app. It’s interesting to note that the offer was observed even on a 5G plan that wasn’t limitless, indicating that it could not be limited to certain expensive recharges.
Airtel’s Digital Bundles: From Perplexity AI Pro to OTT Packs
This new addition is a component of Airtel’s comprehensive content aggregation strategy. In order to offer top-notch entertainment and productivity tools under its recharge packs, the company has been aggressively collaborating with both Indian and international platforms. Airtel established an association with Apple last year to provide its customers subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music. This was first made available to postpaid and broadband users in February 2025, but it now appears that the massive prepaid base is also benefiting.
Apple Music, Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar and More in Airtel Plans
Airtel also just unveiled new recharge options that provide customers access to more than 25 OTT platforms together with broadband and unlimited calls. Among them are well-known brands including Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, SonyLIV, Lionsgate Play, Hoichoi, SunNxt, and Aha.
According to Airtel, the packs would serve a variety of audiences nationwide by providing entertainment in over 16 languages. For instance, the INR 279 prepaid plan gives subscriptions to Netflix Basic, Zee5, Disney+ Hotstar, and Airtel Xstream Play Premium and has a one-month validity period. Airtel emphasised that the OTT subscriptions included in this plan are valued at around INR 750. The same pack is also offered as a “content-only” recharge, which comes with 1GB of data per month and all the same OTT perks.
For heavy users, Airtel offers a plan for INR 598 that includes 28-day valid OTT subscriptions, unlimited 5G data, and unlimited calling. The most expensive recharge plan, INR1,729, provides 84 days of unlimited 5G internet and voice calls along with the same selection of streaming services.
Quick
Shots
•Airtel now offering free Apple Music
subscription to prepaid users (earlier limited to postpaid & broadband).
•Free for up to 6 months; auto-renews
at INR 119/month after trial.
•Seen in Airtel Thanks app;
eligibility unclear, but appears across plans including non-unlimited 5G
packs.
•Move comes weeks after Airtel offered
free Perplexity AI Pro access to users.
Apple finished 2020 with a bang as it posted another massive quarter, pulling in $111.4 billion in revenue. Its revenue rose over 21% as it logged its most profitable quarter ever despite numerous restrictions created by the pandemic.
It’s the first time Apple crossed the symbolic $100 billion mark in a single quarter. The company reported $15.7 billion in services and $95billion in sales from products. To put things in perspective, Apple in the same quarter of 2019, posted revenue of $91.8 billion.
The holiday quarter is always essential for tech giants like Apple and accounts for about 30 percent of its annual product sales. The stakes were even higher this time, as the COVID- 19 outbreak delayed the production of the iPhone 12.
The pandemic even forced Apple to delay the launch date of its new product to October instead of its traditional September release. This meant that different models of the new iPhone didn’t start shipping to customers until November, cutting down the number of weeks Apple usually has to capture sales ahead of Christmas.
However, the revenue number posted by Apple beat analysts’ expectations of $103.2 billion. Many analysts had expected Apple to do well thanks to the holiday season and the debut of the iPhone 12 in October. The latest model featured a new look with 5G capabilities as well as different models of various sizes and prices.
Tim Cook noted that the results would’ve been better if not for the pandemic. The outbreak had forced Apple to close down many of its stores around the world.
Apple makes record gains as iPhone and iPad sales surge
He also pointed out the strong growth across all Apple products – not just iPhone sales to be the reason for such massive earnings. As the pandemic increased demands for home computing services and products, Apple boasted double-digit gains in all of its product categories.
To breakdown earnings across product categories, booming iPhone sales were responsible for $65.59 billion in revenue while Mac and iPad sales delivered $8.68 billion and $8.48 billion, respectively. Its burgeoning services division like Apple+ TV and Apple music jumped 24% to $15.8 billion.
“This quarter for Apple wouldn’t have been possible without the tireless and innovative work of every Apple team member worldwide,” Cook said in a statement. “We are also focused on how we can help the communities we’re a part of build back strongly and equitably, through efforts like our Racial Equity and Justice Initiative as well as our multi-year commitment to invest $350 billion throughout the United States.”
Apple’s revenue increased across all geographic areas, especially in China where its year-over-year revenue jumped by more than 56%.
To make up for the pandemic Wedbush securities analyst Dan Ives says that the new iPhone will launch a sales “super cycle”, in which consumers who have older iPhones will be able to upgrade their phones and get access to 5G connectivity with iPhone 12.
Apple also introduced another hardware product in 2020, the AirPods Max which received mostly positive reviews.
Even though there were fears of Apple’s bottom line taking an enormous hit due to the COVID lockdown, its financial performance over the last nine months has shown that Apple’s business can even withstand a global pandemic.
Over the last few years, a huge change has been witnessed in the music consumption pattern of Indians which has led to a boom in the Indian Music streaming industry. A country where a majority of music listeners relied on radio and television, now have at least 200 million listeners using music streaming services, owing to the lowest price of internet services in the world.
With the increase in the number of subscribers on such a frequent basis, top players in the music streaming industry like Apple Music, JioSaavn, Spotify, etc are battling it out to capture the Indian market.
Affordable data packs can be an important factor that most smartphone users are now using streaming platforms to listen to music on their mobile phones, tablets, and even on computers. While international giants like Amazon Music and Spotify are trying to establish their footing in the Indian zones, local players have also attracted millions of subscribers with a considerable collection of Bollywood soundtracks, podcasts, devotional music, regional songs, etc.
Gaana- Hindi for ‘song’, owned by Times Internet is one of the largest music streaming services in the country with more than 150 million active subscribers. With a majority of its 45 plus million tunes from India, Gaana is ahead of global players like Spotify and Amazon Music. Also, the music is in 20 regional languages, including “auto-tuned Punjabi-language pop ballads, Hindi hip-hop and devotional tunes,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Grassroot strategy and connection to regional music is an advantage over its international competitors. No other music streaming platform provides such a wide category of region-specific Indian songs. Gaana has also reduced its subscription prices from Rs 1,198-Rs 299 for the annual premium plan. Being active in the country have also allowed these services to acquire music rights from different music labels.
JioSaavn
The closest competition of Gaana is JioSaavn, with a 24% market share and more than 100 million monthly active users. JioSaavn became the second-largest music streaming platform after the Jio-Saavn merger in 2018. The streaming service hosts over 50 million songs, including, western, Bollywood, indie, or regional artists in languages like Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, and more.
JioSaavn has also slashed its prices by 70 percent to lure more listeners. The monthly plan for JioSaavn costs Rs 99. The JioSaavn app is available on both iOS and Android platforms. Additionally, JioSaavn improves on Saavn’s earlier user interface and makes it better. However, JioSaavn retains several features from Saavn and adds some new forms of content.
YouTube Music service has the added advantage of Google Play Music’s 35 million song collection, along with the brand of YouTube. The platform has the biggest music catalog, including remixes, covers, renditions, live performances, etc. YouTube Music is a part of YouTube, made specifically for music listening experience.
The platform offers up to 256 kbps streaming and also recommends music based on our preferences. It also offers us the ability to switch between audio/video playbacks. YouTube music also has a feature of the offline mixtape, which saves up to 100 tracks to the device based on our liking. There are two versions of this application, listeners can opt for the free one which includes advertisement and does not have background play advantages.
On the other hand, the paid version costs around Rs 99/month, the Student plan costs Rs 59/month and the Family Plan (for six users) costs Rs 129/month.
Spotify
Spotify is a Swedish music streaming platform and was launched in the year 2019 India. Spotify provides high-quality music at a maximum bitrate of 320kbps and has around 40-50 million songs added to its catalog.
The streaming service has a free and a paid version and is available on both android and iOS platforms. Apart from this, Spotify provides features like curated playlists, collaborative playlists, song lyrics, song credits, podcasts, and also it can cast music on any device.
The app also provides an interesting user interface that keeps on updating regularly and includes new features and elements. It provides darker aesthetics, a modern interface of Spotify, and also made integrations for Instagram stories, Google Maps. Samsung devices etc.
Spotify Premium service for students is priced at Rs 59 per month and the normal version will cost Rs 119 per month for users. There is no family plan available in India.
Apple Music
Apple Music is a premium music streaming service which came to India in the year 2015 with different subscription plans. Apple had launched the Student Plan, Family Plan, and Individual Plan for Rs 60, Rs 190, and Rs 120. However, after analysing its competitors, Apple has slashed its prices.
It is now available for Rs 99 for individuals, Rs 49 for students, and Rs 149 for the family plan. Apple Music also provides a 3 months free trial in India. It also offers up to 256 kbps streaming and better quality compared to other platforms.
Apple Music provides personalized recommendations, a unique Apple user interface, and boasts a music catalog of over 70 million songs. The service also provides mixes, music video playlists, Beats 1 radio, along with news and sports content. Apple Music also offers Siri and Apple Watch integration and Shazam integration.
Interestingly, Apple Music can be accessed on both iOS and Android devices.
Wynk Music
Wynk music is owned by Airtel and has a 15% market share in India. The app is for both Airtel and non-Airtel users and is only available on the Android platform. Airtel has also started pilots for hosting live online concerts on the Wynk Music app.
It aims to provide the adoption of streaming platforms and provides artists to explore live streaming and virtual concerts. Wynk owns over 10 million songs and a large category of Bollywood and regional soundtracks. The service provides an unlimited download option which is quite popular among the users.
The premium plan costs Rs 29 per month for Airtel users and Rs 99 for other users.
Some artists and musicians don’t believe in earning money through their arts. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have individuals who have monetized their creative skills. Music streaming is one such domain which allows artists to earn income. If you want to know how music streaming services enable artists to make money, then this post is for you.
The global music streaming market experienced its fourth consecutive year of growth in 2018, generating over $19 billion in revenue. Music streaming now accounts for almost half of that revenue with 255 million paid users worldwide.
A complete transformation in the streaming music industry began with the launch of Spotify, the music streaming Stockholm based startup. Spotify came into being on October 7, 2008, at a when music streaming was considered as the consumers’ wildest dreams and only accounted for 1% of the global music sales.
By 2013, Spotify had almost 30 million active users along with almost 8 million premium subscribers.
The digital music industry now rests in the hands of Apple Music and Spotify, and has become a mega contributor to the revenue generated in the music industry. This research was conducted by the Wall Street Journal.
The data included paid as well as streaming subscriptions; it also reported a jump in subscriptions for both apps by 31%, which equated to 62% of the industry’s total gross revenue. In 2019, Apple and Spotify reported an 18% shift in revenues valued at 5.4 billion dollars.
Although most of it came from music streaming, physical media sales also went up unexpectedly. Both vinyl and CDs saw a massive jump in sales in the past few years.
Still, this notable increase in physical media sales can’t compete with the music streaming force industry, an area backed by artists like Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Drake. Although these artists aren’t paid huge in music streaming, an appreciable segment of their customer base relies on music streaming.
Growth Of Streaming Apps
How Music Steaming Industry Earn Money
Physical music services, in the form of CDs and similar mediums, were the primary source of listening to music till early 2000s. With the advent of iPhone in 2007, the availability of high-speed internet, and a more digitally inclined crowd, these physical mediums started declining from 2008.
The launch of Spotify and other audio streaming services launched at nearly the same time got a major boost; people were exploring the wonders of audio streaming. And with the emergence of 4G, better smartphones, and everything transitioning to cloud, these streaming apps are now mainstream. The younger generation is now addicted to music streaming and can’t survive without it.
Artists make a lot of money. How? Almost 70% of their revenue comes from online subscribes as well as advertisements.
The allotment strategy adopted is pro-rata allotment in which a fixed percent is allocated to the artists out of the total streaming base (in the form of royalties). However, artists and musicians desire the payment to made on the basis of who the audience likes and listens to the most. Deezer, a music streaming app, is pushing for this change and pressurizing the big giants to do the same.
Inventions and innovations are the part and parcel of every industry. The growing competition is encouraging a huge transformation in the music industry. The newest innovations emphasize on understanding the listening habits of an individual and directing them towards tailored recommendations.
The new era is about competition between Netflix, Amazon Music, YouTube music, Spotify, and others. Spotify took a major step in acquiring Gimlet Media, taking the initial step towards original content. The acquisition is also a way to recover the lost revenue by enabling more music platforms for streaming coupled with hiked subscription rates.
The connection and intimate bonding with listeners has become stronger with the launch of live streaming. Music is now not just about pleasure and enjoyment, but a platform to make money. These streaming platforms continue to provide more avenues to musicians, a medium to be in front of appraisers and audience with some help from tech giants.
This post is dedicated to curating a business around music. It’s possible to make money as a musician. Nearly everyone has a passion for music but no one wants to put in the full-time hard work and efforts required. There are several music producers and musicians, but only a few are able to monetize their skills.
This post provides a generalized outlook on making money in today’s landscape as a musician. It should provide you some guidance in your journey towards making a successful career as a musician.
Like any other creative career, the initial days of a musician involve immense toil, sweat, and tears. You need to build a portfolio. It maybe singing, playing instruments, or both. It’s important to specialize in a genre or segment. Have a knack for writing awesome rap? Then strengthen yourself in it. Don’t inter-twine classical music with rap then. Same goes for musical instruments. You may know to play guitar, piano, and several other instruments. Ultimately, you’ll have to narrow down. However, if you are proficient in multiple instruments, then go ahead. People love musicians who can play multiple instruments like a pro.
At the start, don’t expect hundreds of thousands of people to go gaga over your songs and creations. Some of your early creations may go unnoticed, but you’ll strike gold with one of them.
And it’s about hustling in the beginning. A song you wrote will need several revisions. Late night practice, jamming sessions, and consistent efforts will eventually show results.
Gone are the days of CDs, cassettes, and all that jazz. Today, Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, and other digital platforms rule the roost. One’s entire music playlist resides in smartphones, laptops, etc. People pay for subscriptions to stream music on-demand.
Emerging musicians are utilizing YouTube to the fullest. The power of social media platforms allows them to reach a large mass. All in all, it’s a world dominated by the web, and Walkman, mp3 players, and iPods have become history.
And this is the future of the music industry. Eventually, no one’s going to have audio files in their devices. It will be about downloading or stream music as and when needed.
First and foremost, make a list of all platforms allow to publicize and promote your musical abilities. This includes, but is not restricted to, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other social media websites.
Want some inspiration and success stories to get an idea? Google Shirley Setia. You don’t need to participate in national level singing events and musical shows to make name and claim some fame. At present, it’s about uploading your music videos on the internet, spread the word, and continuing to hustle in parallel.
At the same time, stay as far as possible from plagiarism. People are quick to sniff out copy-and-paste tunes. And if you get caught once, it’s going to taint your image forever. So place originality above everything when composing any kind of item.
If you have some budget to spend, add in some marketing tactics as well. Paid advertisements on Facebook is one example. Purchase a good quality recording equipment to shoot videos of yourself. While a simple audio recorder built in your smartphone is enough for recording your song, you need to have a good camera for video based creations.
If you are uploading your singing or video on online platforms, don’t fill it with ads in the name of monetization. At start, viewers will disregard your attempts as spam videos and audio clips. Keep it as simple as possible. Take Ed Sheeran as an example; no, you don’t necessarily need to take it to the streets and showcase your skills. Leverage the power, influence, and reach of the internet. It’s the quickest way to display your music prowess to several people at the same time.
Also, think of yourself as a business. After all, you are building your identity in the process.
