Hungama Music Closure Announcement
The Indian platform for the Hungama digital stream will cease its streaming music services on Tuesday, April 15.
In a user notification obtained by Musical ally, Hungama Music announced that the musical section Hungama Digital Media will discontinue its service on April 15, stating that “loaded music and the library will no longer be available.”
Recent Market Exits
The closure of Hungama Music marks the third significant exit from the Indian music streaming market in just 15 months, following the departures of RESSO in January and Wynk Music in August 2024.
The reasoning for these exits was linked to the “local market conditions,” as reported by a representative of Bytedance last year. Wynk Music shut down after its parent company, Bharati Airtel, formed a partnership with Apple, effectively transitioning users of its platform to Apple Music.
Currently, only two major home DSPs, Gaana and JioSaavn, remain operational in India.
These closures occur against a backdrop of a boom in music streaming consumption in India.
In 2023, on-demand music streaming reached 1.037 trillion plays, making India the country with the second-largest annual streaming volume in the world, behind the USA, which recorded 1.454 trillion plays. Data from Luminate and separate findings from IFPI showed that the recorded music business in India was worth $319 million in 2022.
Kumar Tarani, a veteran of the Indian music industry and Chairman and Managing Director of the well-known Indian music company Industry advice, stated to MBW last year that the “streaming market in India is on the verge of a digital boom with unprecedented opportunities.”
Future of Hungama OTT
Hungama Music was founded in 2013. In 2020, the service inked a licensing agreement with the Indian Society for the Execution of Rights, the first of its kind for an Indian music streaming platform at that time.
In 2023, the platform transitioned to a subscription-only model, abandoning its freemium approach. Notably, in 2022, its competitor Gaana also removed its free tier and switched exclusively to a subscription model.
The shutdown of Hungama Music comes just five months after its parent company, Hungama Digital Media—recently renamed Hungama OTT—formed a strategic partnership with Virgin Music Group within Universal Music Group to enhance exposure for indie artists and labels.
While the music streaming component is being closed, Hungama OTT will continue to offer films, original web series, audio content, and podcasts. Additionally, the company’s artist management platform, Hul Artist Aloud, suggests a potential shift from music streaming to broader music services.
