Spotify has struck a partnership with Vodafone Idea – the Indian telecom operator known as Vi – that bundles Spotify Premium into the carrier’s postpaid mobile plans.
Under the tie-up, announced on Friday (June 26), Vi postpaid customers on eligible plans receive three months of Spotify Premium at no extra cost.
Amarjit Batra, Managing Director of Spotify India, described it as the company’s “first-of-its-kind telco partnership in India.”
The Premium benefit covers ad-free, on-demand listening, offline downloads and audio streaming of up to 320 kbps.
It runs as a fixed benefit across Vi‘s individual postpaid plans priced from ₹451 (USD $4.78) to ₹1,201 ($12.73), and family plans from ₹701 ($7.43) to ₹1,601 ($16.97).
Eligible users who have not previously subscribed to Spotify Premium can activate the complimentary subscription through the Vi app.
After the three-month window, subscribers can keep the service through Vi‘s ‘Add to Bill’ option at ₹139 ($1.47) per month.
That matches what Spotify charges for a standalone Premium subscription in India today, after it cut the standard tier to ₹139 from ₹199 ($2.11) in May.
“Music is an essential part of everyday life for millions of Indians, whether they are commuting, working out, or unwinding,” said Batra.
“Through our first-of-its-kind telco partnership in India with Vi, we are making Spotify Premium more accessible to music and podcast fans across the country, and helping more Vi users experience the value of a premium streaming experience.”
Amarjit Batra, Spotify India
“Through our first-of-its-kind telco partnership in India with Vi, we are making Spotify Premium more accessible to music and podcast fans across the country, and helping more Vi users experience the value of a premium streaming experience.
“It is about making high-quality listening and unlimited control the new standard for music fans in India. We are not only enhancing the listening experience but also helping create greater long-term value for artists, creators, and the wider music industry in India.”
Avneesh Khosla, Chief Marketing Officer at Vi, added: “Music is central to our customers’ digital lives.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Spotify to bring premium music & audio experiences to our user base. This collaboration strengthens our entertainment ecosystem, which we have built over the years by partnering with global leaders.
“By combining forces with Spotify, we are offering an unmatched content mix that makes Vi the top choice for subscribers.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Spotify to bring premium music & audio experiences to our user base. This collaboration strengthens our entertainment ecosystem, which we have built over the years by partnering with global leaders.”
Avneesh Khosla, Vodafone India
Vi is not the first Indian carrier to bundle a music service with its plans.
Rival operator Reliance Jio bundles its own JioSaavn app for subscribers, while Bharti Airtel shut its in-house Wynk Music service in 2024 and moved its subscribers to Apple Music through a partnership with Apple.
The Vi deal marks Spotify‘s first such arrangement with an Indian telecom operator.
The opportunity for streaming services in India lies in converting free listeners into paying subscribers.
Some 178 million people streamed music online in India in 2025, but only around 8% of them paid for it, according to a joint report from EY and FICCI.
That worked out at 14.4 million paid subscriptions and pushed the country’s paid streaming revenue past ₹10.3 billion ($118.2 million) for the first time.
In India, telco bundling has been the main lever for narrowing that gap.
The same EY and FICCI report found that 64% of free streamers would pay under certain conditions, with 42% citing a low price as the trigger.
Vi‘s ‘Add to Bill’ option charges the ₹139 monthly fee directly to a customer’s phone bill, removing a separate Spotify payment step.
Spotify‘s India price cut was part of a wider push to chase subscriber volume in emerging markets, even as the company raised prices in the US.
Spotify ended the first quarter of 2026 with 761 million users globally, including 293 million subscribers, and posted a $2.5 billion operating profit for 2025.
It has operated in India since February 2019, when it launched despite a licensing dispute with Warner Music Group.
Vodafone Idea is a joint venture between India’s Aditya Birla Group and the UK’s Vodafone Group.
Vi and Spotify said they intend to expand the partnership over time.Music Business Worldwide
