India's No 2 handset vendor Micromax has invested in Gaana, India's top music broadcast and streaming service, to foster online music broadcast services in the country. The terms of the deal were not disclosed but under the partnership, Gaana will be available on all Micromax smartphones, allowing users a trial period to download unlimited content from Gaana for free.
Gaana is India's largest music broadcast service with 20 million active users and over 30 million downloads.
In a statement, Satyan Gajwani, CEO of Times Internet, said that Gaana "is becoming a household brand for music, and in partnership with Micromax, we will strengthen our footprint, helping us reach our goal of 100 million Indian users, listening to millions of songs via Gaana."
Rahul Sharma, co-founder, Micromax Informatics Ltd, said that the device maker has been integrating best in class services to our smartphones and are trying to build an ecosystem of connected devices in a connected world. India is a music loving country and youth are hooked on music for at least 2-3 hours a day through their smartphones".
After a trial period, users can continue with Gaana+ or use Gaana to access over 10 million songs with advertisement-supported streaming.
Disclaimer: Gaana.com is part of the Times of India Group, which also publishes HuffPost India