Sony Music is looking to change the way listeners consume music. The company has inserted a paid window in a bid to get consumers pay for what they listen.
The label promises to follow this through with other tracks going forward and hopes it will be able to monetise on the content.
To start with, the company has taken its biggest track this year
“Even though consumption of music has increased exponentially, it has not translated into paid users. Consumers were unwilling to pay . The concept of ‘everything-free’ will change or rather needs to change to an ecosystem where some things will be free and other things will be paid,” Shridhar Subramaniam, President, Sony Music Entertainment - India and Middle East, told
To start with, Sony Music has put Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma starrer When Harry met Sejal onto its paid platform.
“The reason ‘Phurrr’ was chosen is because it is the biggest project of the year with an international collaboration so we felt that if we are taking this step then we must do it with a very big song. We needed a big project with a must-listen song that had so much anticipation,” he added.
Subramaniam said that any consumer / listener who wanted to access the song first will now have to pay for the same.
“We had decided to convert to a pay model after various deliberations with key partners and stake holders including audio streaming platforms such as Saavn, Gaana, Hungama among others,” he added.
Subramaniam said at least 50 million of the consumers were free users. “Only four lakh users pay for any kind of music services,” he said adding the move will directly benefit creators and rightful IP owners.
The music will typically costs ₹99 on Android, ₹120 on iOS for monthly subscription or single song purchase on iTunes at ₹15.
According to International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) Global Music Report 2016, there has been an increase of 10.2 per cent in digital music revenues, which have soared to $6.7 billion, with a 45.2 per cent increase in streaming revenue more than downloads and physical formats.
According to industry data, consumers spend about 100 odd minutes a month on music either on mobile devices or internet. Typically, a song on day one of its release would reach 20 million.
Sony Music is one of the leading players in the domestic music industry with an estimated 25 per cent market share.
Other players in the industry include Bhushan Kumar led T-series and Saregama.