iWorld
Spotify plans free mobile version of its service
MUMBAI: Spotify AB is planning a free, ad-supported version of its streaming-music service on mobile devices, according to reports doing rounds, after previously making mobile users pay a monthly fee.
The Sweden-based music company has reached licensing deals with all three of the global music companies to use its recordings on the new service. Until now, a free version of Spotify was available only on desktop and laptop computers.
Spotify, which has six million paying subscribers and 20 million active users world-wide, has negotiated with three major record companies – Sony Corp.’s Sony Music Entertainment, Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group and Access Industries’ Warner Music Group – over the rates it will pay them to play songs on the free mobile service, and over how much direct control users have over what they listen to, reports claimed.
The new ad-supported offering will allow nonpaying mobile users to play a limited number of songs on demand, but will mostly serve up music based on the user’s input, much like custom radio services such as Pandora Media.
Spotify launched its own custom radio feature last year. Spotify’s premium service, which costs $10 a month, delivers unlimited, on-demand music from its 20 million-song catalog on any device. Until now, free users have been able to play music on demand, with ads, on their computers – but they can’t use the service from their mobile phones or tablets, unless they enter their credit-card information to sign up for the 30-day premium-service trial.
iWorld
Jio IPO faces delay as India yet to clear listing rule changes
Proposed rule change allows mega IPOs to float just 2.5 per cent
MUMBAI: The Indian government’s delay in formalising changes to listing rules may derail the targeted timeline for the initial public offering (IPO) of Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani.
According to media reports, Reliance is awaiting formal notification of regulatory amendments before appointing investment bankers and filing a draft IPO prospectus. The company is now aiming to submit the draft prospectus before April, depending on when the government issues the notification.
Jio, which owns India’s largest wireless operator, is widely seen as one of the crown jewels of Ambani’s business empire. Its listing, the first public offering of a major Reliance unit in nearly two decades, could become the country’s biggest ever IPO.
Investment bankers have proposed a valuation of as much as $170 billion for the company. Even the minimum stake sale could raise roughly $4.3 billion, potentially placing Jio among India’s most valuable listed companies.
Ambani had earlier said that Reliance was targeting a listing of Jio in the first half of 2026, a plan first outlined in 2019 with a five-year timeline. In 2020, global technology groups Meta Platforms and Alphabet invested more than $10 billion combined in the company.
The delay stems from pending regulatory changes approved by the Securities and Exchange Board of India in September. The amendments allow companies with a post-issue market capitalisation exceeding Rs 5 trillion (about $55 billion) to float as little as 2.5 per cent of equity in an IPO, compared with the current 5 per cent minimum.
Such changes are expected to enable mega listings, including potential offerings by Jio and the National Stock Exchange of India. However, the reforms still require formal notification from the government.
Meanwhile, the National Stock Exchange is moving ahead with plans to raise as much as $2.5 billion through its own IPO and has recently invited banks to pitch for roles in the offering.
