Controversy over streaming and its payments to performers and songwriters can only continue but musicians have to take solace knowing that as more and more get access to services such as Spotify, their royalty payments can only go up (or they can see it as a sad sign that streaming isn't going anywhere). Either way, Australian service Guvera made its debut in India this week, opening the mobile streaming app to more than 1.25 billion people (via Billboard).
Guvera is the first foreign streaming app to break into India. Although the world's second most populous nation has access to several domestic streaming services, the Australian option will offer 12 million songs-more than four times that of India's largest provider, Saavn. The app will be available for users of Android and iOS devices.
Now some cynics will quickly point out that a nation like India doesn't have enough citizens wealthy enough to own smartphones and the apps that accompany them. And those people would be wrong, terribly wrong. According to The Guardian, buyers in India will have purchased nearly 225 million new smartphones during 2014 (compared to a mere 89 million in the United States). That makes India a huge market for app developers around the world, including streaming services. China has even more new smartphone buyers but proves a tougher market to break into.
Music Times spoke with New Music Seminar founder Tom Silverman earlier during the year and he predicted exactly what's happening in India as the future of the music industry. Brazil, Russia, India and China make up the BRIC countries, or four of the largest nations on Earth that also serve as huge potential markets.
Guvera should enjoy the competitive advantage while it can. Lord knows every other major streaming service will be trying to crack the border soon enough.