Airtel to shut down music streaming app Wynk Music

Bharti Airtel is pulling the plug on its music streaming app, Wynk Music. The group will absorb all employees working with the streaming service.

PTI, which reported the development first, said that Airtel is planning to shut down Wynk Music in the next couple of months. Airtel also confirmed the move to the news agency.

The report of Wynk shutting down comes on a day when Airtel announced a partnership with Apple to provide access to Apple Music with special offers to its customers who use iPhone.

Last year, Airtel was planning to monetise offerings under Wynk by leveraging the creator economy in addition to subscription and advertising. It appears that the plan did not work out.

Wynk offers different subscription plans, including a free version with ads and premium versions. Its premium plans are often bundled with Airtel's mobile and broadband packages.

Indian music streaming space has always remained competitive with multiple players vying to tap into the exponential growth of mobile internet consumption in the country. Times Group offered Gaana, Reliance had JioSaavn, and then there are global companies like Apple (Apple Music), Spotify, Amazon (Amazon Music), and Google (YouTube Music and YouTube).

Even though there’s consumption, streaming remains a tough nut to crack. Some of the key challenges include licensing rights and price points. Just recently, Times Internet-owned Gaana was sold to Radio Mirchi, for mere Rs 25 lakh. Entrackr exclusively reported about the deal earlier this month.

It’s worth noting that Gaana was also in talks for a potential merger and acquisition with Airtel Wynk which eventually fell through.

Separately, YouTube today increased its prices for ad-free Premium offering. The family plan now costs Rs 299 per month, up from Rs 189.