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Jio, the largest cell phone service in India, with about 280 million subscribers, recently acquired another streaming service called Saavn, and it is available

Jio, the largest cell phone service in India, with about 280 million subscribers, recently acquired another streaming service called Saavn, and it is available for free for Jio customers (along with their Tivo-like TV streaming service and their movies). P.S - I work for Jio. P.S2 - Apple music also costs the same as spotify in India. To reply to Zuron's comments: Even assuming Spotify experience is better, it is a question of pricing. Jio currently offers unlimited calls, text and 1.5GB of data per day (which includes all you can stream) for about the same price (USD 2.10 per month for the whole thing whereas Spotify charges USD 1.70 just for music streaming). I am trying to making a humble point that there are some incredible values to be obtained at this price point in India today. @Ing33K - Yes that is me.

zuron7 8y ago
But, let's be honest, the experience that Spotify provides is way better than what Saavn does. I can change music remotely on any device, get much better recommendations, and listen to podcasts conveniently.
- sreekar545 8y ago
  The only recommendation system I really liked was of Pandora. Spotify's is a joke, playlists and radio got a lot better compared to 2-3 years ago but I can't just put the radio ON and forget like I can, with Pandora.
  - zuron7 8y ago
    Ah yes, Pandora is better (tried it over a VPN once), but I live in India, so was speaking from that perspective. Spotify comes second for me personally. I've tried them all.
ing33k 8y ago
off-topic: Hey, I remember you from your username. you were hiring for some fintech company. Were you hiring for JioMoney ?
Gigacore 8y ago
Saavn was always free. Jio is just offering its paid subscription free for the first 90 days.
pankajdoharey 8y ago
Just to be clear folks Jio is run by the shadiest business person in India, with dubious and often serious malpractices.
- r_singh 8y ago
  The company I work for is going through its worst year because of JIO. It just feels good to read this here on HN. We know the truth even if the general public / consumers ignore because of disinterest, media ignores because of fear, and the Govt. looks away for self interest.
  - ShorsHammer 8y ago
    Care to elaborate? Both these comments are just name calling at this point. Don't know much, but my Indian friends seem to like them. From what I gather they compete strongly on price (as in free) in an attempt to get into many other sectors. Once you have a wechat-esque hold on numerous market sectors making them profitable isn't really that hard, which seems to be their goal. I certainly don't agree with this type of business model either, but then again most people I know give strange looks when I rail against FB or Google.
    - r_singh 8y ago
      FB/Google rose on merit, becoming bigger with equity dilution. Now there's a community aware about the ills that come with monopolies, (i.e. power to lobby, throw weight around on users and the government) and so choose to dislike the company (or in extreme cases boycott their products). Coming to Jio, their parent company Reliance is the biggest business group of India (the promoter is the 5th richest person in the world). The group is infamous for being corrupt in the business community and the number of questionable instances cannot even be counted. My company has done business with Reliance in the past and has never received payments for the same. India being a lot more corrupt as a nation gives this company powers that would be unfathomable in developed nations. Just for a few small instances: this company has on many occasions changed regulation just to benefit their business model (or disruption) by sheer political clout. Even in case of Jio, the telecom interconnect charges in India were made 0, and will be changed again when Jio is in a position to benefit from them. And this is just 1 rule change. Vodafone's CEO has openly appealed that India's telecom authorities appear to be working for the interest of Jio only. This topic is just too big to summarise, it needs a multiple volume book. You're not gonna believe this, but a few authors who have tried to write on the way this group has come up have been banned in India, this probably gives you an idea about how dangerous this group could be. Reliance's books are not believable, debts are irrational, business practices are unethical, etc, etc and the list will go on.
r_singh 8y ago
Apple Music's family subscription costs on Rs.180 for 6 users. That's an order of magnitude cheaper than Spotify, which to me seems super hyped. There can't be 1 single best way to discover music, people tell me that they find great music through me, but that's because I constantly listen to new music with the intention of finding great songs. Buying a few recommendation companies can't solve music discovery.
barathvutukuri 8y ago
Bro, I guess you're a telugu guy based on ur username.
hereiskkb 8y ago
Why the hell does that music player need to know my location every goddamn time I open it is beyond me.
iamgopal 8y ago
I like Gaana more, It seems to me, it has bigger collection than Saavn. Their business model ( pay for download, free to listen online ) failed completely because of Jio, still they are surviving somehow. Please also buy Gaana, while you guys are at it.
- shaan7 8y ago
  Yep, the only thing that I miss in Gaana is a desktop app (which Spotify has).
hn011 8y ago
nice username macha
omouse 8y ago
Is net neutrality a thing in India? Because that sounds like a clear case of an infrastructure providing content which could lead to a lot of conflict of interest (like the bundling and lower price that you mention)

zuron7 8y ago

But, let's be honest, the experience that Spotify provides is way better than what Saavn does. I can change music remotely on any device, get much better recommendations, and listen to podcasts conveniently.

sreekar545 8y ago
The only recommendation system I really liked was of Pandora. Spotify's is a joke, playlists and radio got a lot better compared to 2-3 years ago but I can't just put the radio ON and forget like I can, with Pandora.
- zuron7 8y ago
  Ah yes, Pandora is better (tried it over a VPN once), but I live in India, so was speaking from that perspective. Spotify comes second for me personally. I've tried them all.

ing33k 8y ago

off-topic: Hey, I remember you from your username. you were hiring for some fintech company. Were you hiring for JioMoney ?

Gigacore 8y ago

Saavn was always free. Jio is just offering its paid subscription free for the first 90 days.

pankajdoharey 8y ago

Just to be clear folks Jio is run by the shadiest business person in India, with dubious and often serious malpractices.

r_singh 8y ago
The company I work for is going through its worst year because of JIO. It just feels good to read this here on HN. We know the truth even if the general public / consumers ignore because of disinterest, media ignores because of fear, and the Govt. looks away for self interest.
- ShorsHammer 8y ago
  Care to elaborate? Both these comments are just name calling at this point. Don't know much, but my Indian friends seem to like them. From what I gather they compete strongly on price (as in free) in an attempt to get into many other sectors. Once you have a wechat-esque hold on numerous market sectors making them profitable isn't really that hard, which seems to be their goal. I certainly don't agree with this type of business model either, but then again most people I know give strange looks when I rail against FB or Google.
  - r_singh 8y ago
    FB/Google rose on merit, becoming bigger with equity dilution. Now there's a community aware about the ills that come with monopolies, (i.e. power to lobby, throw weight around on users and the government) and so choose to dislike the company (or in extreme cases boycott their products). Coming to Jio, their parent company Reliance is the biggest business group of India (the promoter is the 5th richest person in the world). The group is infamous for being corrupt in the business community and the number of questionable instances cannot even be counted. My company has done business with Reliance in the past and has never received payments for the same. India being a lot more corrupt as a nation gives this company powers that would be unfathomable in developed nations. Just for a few small instances: this company has on many occasions changed regulation just to benefit their business model (or disruption) by sheer political clout. Even in case of Jio, the telecom interconnect charges in India were made 0, and will be changed again when Jio is in a position to benefit from them. And this is just 1 rule change. Vodafone's CEO has openly appealed that India's telecom authorities appear to be working for the interest of Jio only. This topic is just too big to summarise, it needs a multiple volume book. You're not gonna believe this, but a few authors who have tried to write on the way this group has come up have been banned in India, this probably gives you an idea about how dangerous this group could be. Reliance's books are not believable, debts are irrational, business practices are unethical, etc, etc and the list will go on.

r_singh 8y ago

Apple Music's family subscription costs on Rs.180 for 6 users. That's an order of magnitude cheaper than Spotify, which to me seems super hyped. There can't be 1 single best way to discover music, people tell me that they find great music through me, but that's because I constantly listen to new music with the intention of finding great songs. Buying a few recommendation companies can't solve music discovery.

barathvutukuri 8y ago

Bro, I guess you're a telugu guy based on ur username.

hereiskkb 8y ago

Why the hell does that music player need to know my location every goddamn time I open it is beyond me.

iamgopal 8y ago

I like Gaana more, It seems to me, it has bigger collection than Saavn. Their business model ( pay for download, free to listen online ) failed completely because of Jio, still they are surviving somehow. Please also buy Gaana, while you guys are at it.

shaan7 8y ago
Yep, the only thing that I miss in Gaana is a desktop app (which Spotify has).

hn011 8y ago

nice username macha

omouse 8y ago

Is net neutrality a thing in India? Because that sounds like a clear case of an infrastructure providing content which could lead to a lot of conflict of interest (like the bundling and lower price that you mention)