Wynk Music has launched a music distribution ecosystem for independent artists based in India and overseas, Wynk Studio. The studio aims to enable artists to launch their music and will also partner them in monetising their music on a host of platforms and will be a part of Airtel’s digital products portfolio which includes Wynk, Airtel Xstream, Airtel Ads, Airtel IQ among others.
The creator economy for music is at a nascent stage but poised to grow significantly, Adarsh Nair, CEO, Airtel Digital, “With Wynk Studio, we are building a platform that allows an aspiring musician to pursue their passion and earn income at the same time. Airtel’s experience in music streaming, ability to achieve scale, and long standing relationship with over 350 million customers will ensure that all stakeholders in the industry have an equal and rewarding journey,” he added.
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 the 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. With Wynk Studio as a medium and helped by Airtel’s unparalleled reach, Independent artists have an unprecedented opportunity to take their voice to the audience directly. Wynk claims to have earmarked a sum of Rs 100 crore to promote local talent on the application and enable their discovery.
Over the past few years, there has been a surge in consumer demand for regional music, even as Bollywood and International music continue to be big draws. As the smartphone penetration increases, so is the demand for local artists who perform in regional languages and dialects. Wynk offers music in 15 Indian languages and regional songs now account for over 30% of the overall streams on the app. Songs in Oriya, Gujarati, Assamese, Marathi, Telugu and Bhojpuri have seen over 150% growth and are also popular outside the home states as well.
According to the company, the Indian music industry is at an inflection point. Indians on average spend about 21 hours per week listening to music as against a global average of 18 hours. Almost 30% of the top performing songs across any music platform in India are today from independent artists and these independent artists are all set to drive the growth of the industry by 50% from roughly Rs 2,000 crore at the moment to Rs 3,000 crore by 2025.
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