Bharti Airtel is going to shut down its music streaming app, Wynk Music. The group will absorb all the employees working with the streaming service.
PTIWho Report The first person aware of the development said that Airtel is planning to shut down Wynk Music in the next few months. Airtel has also confirmed the move to the news agency.
The news of Wink's shutdown comes on the day Airtel announced that it will stop providing services to its customers. Partnership with Apple Providing access to Apple Music with special offers to its customers using iPhone.
Airtel last year Plan Monetizing the offerings under Wink by leveraging the creator economy in addition to subscriptions and advertising. It seems this plan did not work out.
Wynk offers different subscription plans, including a free version with ads and a premium version. Its premium plans are often bundled with Airtel's mobile and broadband packages.
The Indian music streaming sector has always been competitive, with multiple players vying to capitalise on the rapid growth in mobile internet consumption in the country. Times Group offers Gaana, Reliance offers JioSaavn, and then there are global players like Apple (Apple Music), Spotify, Amazon (Amazon Music) and Google (YouTube Music and YouTube).
Even though consumption is picking up, streaming is still a tricky business. Some of the major challenges include licensing rights and price points. Just recently, Times Internet-owned Gaana was sold to Radio Mirchi for a mere Rs 25 lakh. Entrackr Exclusively reported Information about this deal was given earlier this month.
It is worth noting that Gaana Airtel was also in talks with Wynk for a possible merger and acquisition, which eventually fell through.
Apart from this, YouTube has today increased the prices of its ad-free premium offering. The price of the family plan has now increased from Rs 189 to Rs 299 per month.