To bolster engagement on its music streaming platform Wynk Music, Airtel Digital has launched a new feature, Wynk Studio, to curate independent artists on its platform.
Independent artists can upload music independently onto Airtel Digital’s music streaming app, with the company committing to foster a streaming ecosystem, where independent musicians have an equal chance to be discovered as bigger artists.
In an exclusive interaction with BusinessLine, Adarsh Nair, CEO, Airtel Digital, noted that Wynk Studio could be a key differentiator for the music streaming app to compete with global giants such as YouTube and Spotify.
“The studio plans to launch 5,000 independent artists on the platform in the next one year. This will bring forward unknown talent stymied by music industry’s three most-pressing problems — discovery, monetisation and analytics — which together determine the difference between success and failure in the Indian music industry,” the press note stated.
Wynk has earmarked ₹100 crore to promote local talent on the application. Airtel Digital is one of the youngest verticals of the telecommunications giant, Bharti Airtel, comprising businesses such as Wynk Music, Airtel Xstream, Ads and Airtel IQ.
Nair said the vertical has a current revenue of ₹1,000 crore. However, he did not disclose the exact contribution of Wynk Music to the overall revenue. He observed that the streaming app aims to increase its monthly active user base from 75 million to 100 million in the next fiscal year.
He claimed that a majority of the streaming company’s users reside in Tier 2 and Tier 3 geographies. Moreover, non-metro geographies will continue to remain the focus areas for growth for the next two years.
Through the Wynk Studio, the company wants to curate a wider range of music content for users, including regional content. Nair noted that this feature will add another revenue stream for Wynk Music. The company will also earn commission as it plans to promote the independent artists’ music on other platforms in India as well around the globe.
Published on
August 11, 2022
