Why read this story?
Editor's note: No, we haven’t misspelt Smile. We mean Smule, a karaoke application which is the dark horse of the Indian digital music ecosystem. The US-based app entered India in 2016. And in just two years, Smule has become the top-grossing audio application, beating streaming apps like Times Internet-owned Gaana (No. 3), Reliance Industries’ JioSaavn (No. 4) and Bharti Airtel’s Wynk (No. 5), according to a March 2019 report by industry body Ficci and consulting firm EY. Smule is backed by Chinese internet giant Tencent, which also owns the second highest grossing audio app, StarMaker Smule is fascinating, mainly because its growth has been quiet. In the shadow of massive internet companies like Times Internet, part of India's biggest media company, the Times Group, and Reliance Jio, the telecom unit of Reliance Industries, Smule is rather discreetly building its platform, which is a mix of streaming and social media. Subscribers on the app sing along to popular tracks or with other subscribers and artists; it's a platform that's effectively centred on user-generated content, but also licensed music. Globally, Smule has about 40-50 …
More in Internet
You may also like
Are we really headed towards an AI-driven leisure economy?
Ari Emanuel’s $3 billion bet on live entertainment rests on the assumption that artificial intelligence will reduce working hours and increase the demand for leisure. But it’s hard to imagine such a future, particularly in India.
That band you like on Spotify could be entirely AI. What does that mean for music?
With bands like The Velvet Sundown and Trilok gaining traction, artificial intelligence is no longer just a tool in music creation. It is shaping how streaming platforms, artists and listeners approach music.
Pocket FM’s model doesn’t need humans
Multiple former employees of the audio series startup have been complaining about a gruesome and callous work culture. A deeper look suggests that this dynamic may be the result of the business model itself.