Spotify has recently launched streaming services in India despite an ongoing legal battle with Warner. Services launched quietly; many people are able to pay for subscriptions despite the lack of an official announcement.
Since Spotify announced their intention to launch services in India in 2018, a licensing deal with Warner/Chappell Music lead to a legal battle. Warner apparently revoked a pre-existing agreement with the streaming giant due to the launch of streaming services in India.
This conflict is the biggest of a slough of delays to the launch. In attempts to circumvent the licensing deal gone south, Spotify looked for loopholes in Indian copyright law. On February 25, Warner launched a full-scale lawsuit to block Spotify’s access to their catalog.
Streaming services are currently operating without the entire Warner catalog, which contains many of the world’s largest stars. The streaming giant has managed to obtain licenses to a host of local music, however, and India-specific categories like Bollywood are currently available. Users can’t quite purchase the full host of premium features, but it appears those will be launched in the coming days.
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