Indian music service Gaana gets Android app update, adds online SingAlong app

Indian company Times Internet has released a premium version of its music streaming service, Gaana, which is now being called Gaana+. The service is now also available for Android devices. The company has also upgraded the free version that was earlier seen for the mobile platform.

Gaana+, as a premium service, was released by the company earlier in the year for the iOS platform, which also rolled out the update for its basic Gaana service. After getting favourable responses from iOS users, the company decided to upgrade the service for Android as well.

The new version of the free service includes a better search function and makes it easier to create and edit playlists. Gaana allows users to customise the quality of song playback according to the avaiable connection speed.

Times Internet has launched the updated version of its Gaana music streaming service for Android

The base version of the music streaming service was free for Android and iOS, owing to its reliance on advertisements. Gaana+, however, will have no such feature and instead charges its users. The premium version of the music streaming service will charge Indian users $2.99 (Rs 175 approx) per month, while International users will have to shell out $3.99 (Rs 234 approx) per month. Gaana+ is able to support an offline mode by allowing users to download tracks directly to their devices.   

Times Internet has also launched an add-on app called SingAlong for both the base and premium version, which rates the level of your singing. With Facebook integration, SingAlong lets users challenge their Facebook friends as well. The add-on app functions like karaoke and can be used with Gaana and Gaana+. While SingAlong comes without the usual karaoke visual cues, it does give points to users who sing well, or relatively so.

The app also comes with an online Champions page, which users can try singing their way onto. The choices seem varied as users can pick from over 300 songs that range across five different languages, as well as multiple genres, which include jazz, ballad, R&B as well as pop. 

SingAlong relies on the streaming service for songs to sing along to. Users can browse through available songs, as well as search for songs of their preference. Setting a playlist of sing-able songs is also an option, as is the option of making a standalone favourite file for songs that users may take a fancy to. SingAlong is not yet available for mobile devices, but the company has said that the app should soon appear in all App stores. 

With 1.6 million downloads, the music streaming service has so far seen around 4.6 million users per month across all the platforms, according to TheNextWeb . Gaana is competing with the like of Spotify, Pandora, Deezer and Nokia Music internationally, while squaring up with the likes of Saavn, MusicIndiaOnline and Raaga in the Indian sphere. So far, the service has the rights to around 2.5 million songs that cover both domestic and international offerings from over 300 record labels worldwide.