If you regularly buy tickets for movies, sporting events, or concerts, you've heard of BookMyShow[1]. With over 50 million downloads, it's one of India’s biggest apps, and one of the few big players among ticketing platforms. With its latest offering, announced in Mumbai on Thursday, the company is trying to become something new.
The 18-year-old start-up has now set its sight on the realm of music, and it's ramping up a feature that has been in soft launch for months: Jukebox[2]. What began in testing as a way to give users a few free songs upon the purchase of a ticket – a seemingly banal addition in the age of streaming services – is now turning into India's own free-tier Spotify[3]. But Jukebox is not a standalone app in itself, but a section of the existing BookMyShow app.
It's ambition to be Spotify – even as the execution falters a little – is clear at first glance. Currently available in BookMyShow's Android app, and coming to iOS in a few days, Jukebox has a dual focus on songs and talk-shows/ podcasts. All the content is accessible without any charge, with the same catch as free-Spotify: you can't play individual songs.
Instead, BookMyShow has roped in industry professionals such as Nikhil Chinapa, Brian Tellis, and Rohit Barker, who help curate playlists in their genre of expertise. Like Spotify, you've also got the option of mood playlists. It also has deals in place with all the big labels, so you can expect to find everything from the latest Bollywood tracks to the biggest international hits.
"As a music lover, what you need to do is just press play," Aditya Kuber, associate VP Music at BookMyShow, tells Gadgets...