According to the EY-IMI report, India had 14 million paid music subscriptions as of December 2025, a fraction of the more than 200 million paid video-streaming subscriptions.

“Bundles have a role to play in growing streaming markets, and partnerships like Vi are an important part of how we reach new listeners across India. But growing reach and growing a paying market aren't the same thing. Listeners pay when they feel a real difference - when the experience connects them more deeply to the artists they love,” said Rami Jamal, head of partnerships, India, Middle East & Africa at Spotify.

He added that this is where the platform focuses: building a listening experience that makes choosing to pay feel like a natural way to support the music that matters to users.

“When that happens, everyone benefits - artists can sustain their careers, the industry grows, and listeners get more of the music they showed up for in the first place,” Jamal added.

A JioSaavn spokesperson agreed that bundling entertainment apps with telecom and internet services has become increasingly popular. Bundled offerings provide value to consumers by giving them access to premium services at hassle-free, affordable prices.

“For any Internet-based B2C company, particularly music streaming apps, one of the most significant costs is customer acquisition apart from content licensing cost. Bundling helps bring down customer acquisition costs and scale customer trials,” the person said.

“Customers tell us that bundled services are a great way for them to try new services. We continue to explore this by launching new bundle packs to enhance value for customers, where they can access Jio’s 5G network and high-speed internet with JioSaavn’s vast audio catalogue,” the person added.

Entertainment industry experts believe that, unlike video services, audio apps have not fully tapped into the massive opportunity offered by bundling. The broader bundling framework still has a large gap to cover, mainly because of the economics of music rights.

Video OTT platforms primarily own the content they distribute, meaning every new user can bring additional revenue without a corresponding increase in content costs. For audio platforms, however, scaling bundles requires a reworking of music-licensing economics.

Bundling could nevertheless drive trials of premium audio offerings, provided platforms can make the economics work.

According to Rohith Sobti, curator and founder of The Shakti Collective, an artist-first cultural house building a structured ecosystem for music, storytelling, and cultural IP, bundling removes friction by attaching music to services consumers already subscribe to, such as telecom, banking and e-commerce.

However, bundling is only an acquisition tool. It brings users into the ecosystem but does not automatically create long-term value or monetization.

“The next phase should bundle music with experiences such as live events, creator communities, and fan engagement. Global examples like Deezer with Orange, T-Mobile’s Music Freedom, and Samsung’s device partnerships show that bundling works best when it is treated as a long-term acquisition strategy rather than a short-term promotion,” Sobti said.

India’s opportunity is to move bundling from a free add-on to a structured acquisition-to-conversion funnel, with equal focus on retaining subscribers after the free period ends, he added.

The challenge, however, goes beyond distribution. Music is viewed as a daily utility, while video is treated as a destination experience. Consumers therefore see greater value in paying separately for video.

YouTube’s dominance further weakens the premium proposition, as users already have free access to an enormous music catalogue.

“India has always known music as a free product, whether on radio, TV or YouTube. The fact that music now with the advent of streaming has value requires a big mindset change. Bundling and pricing will work when there is a perceived value to music,” Ashish Pherwani, M&E (media and entertainment) sector leader, EY India, said.

The fact that music labels are investing in independent, non-film music stars is a step in this direction, Pherwani added.