Music streaming app Moodagent is onboarding Indian artists, labels to woo listeners

Denmark-based music streaming app Moodagent is focussed on ramping up onboarding of local artists and labels in India as it looks to woo more listeners and enhance user experience on its platform, its India head said.

Moodagent — which competes with platforms like Spotify, JioSaavn, Wynk, and Amazon Music — offers technology that allows users to create a personalised playlist reflecting their mood and vibe. The app was launched in India earlier this month.

Moodagent India Executive Vice President and MD Jyoti Handa said the platform is live in Denmark, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and India.

"Moodagent is quite different from other music streaming apps that are currently available in the market. We depend primarily on technology, which is artificial intelligence and machine learning, to understand the moods and behaviour of the end-consumer and recommend to them the music they would like basis their specific kind of moods," he said.

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He added the tech and IP comes from Denmark, where the company started about a year ago.

Moodagent has a library of about 55 million tracks and has already inked partnerships with global music labels and aggregators.

"We have already partnered with all the global majors, and some of them which are in India, have both international and the Indian music. There are a couple of major Indian specific labels that we are right now working with to get them onboard soon," Handa said.

He added the Indian artists' repertoire is expected to be introduced to the app soon.

"...the mood is measured by like a huge set of parameters, which includes the vocals, the instruments, the different genres... There is a lot of initial manual stuff which is also required specifically for the Indian music, which we've been working on for quite some time," he said.

Asked about expectations from the Indian market, Handa said, "We are looking at being at par with any other premium subscription-based service in India over the next four to six quarters in terms of subscribers."

"As per reports, premium subscribers are in the range of maybe about three or four million in India for any premium subscription-based services... India has witnessed a growth in the increase of devices, and there has been a strong uptake in music consumption over the last one and a half years, so I think the reach is going to exponentially increase," he said.

Founded by AI expert Peter Berg Steffensen and music producer Mikael Henderson, Moodagent is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Users can start listening by simply selecting a song, artist, or mood, and the app's patented core technology, which combines artificial intelligence with in-depth audio analysis, create a dynamic, personalised playlist.

By analysing key characteristics in songs, including emotions, moods, genres, instruments, vocal styles, and more, Moodagent claims to be able to better understand both the individual songs and how they relate to other songs and artists, and the user's listening preferences, ultimately offering more precise and personalised music recommendations.

The Moodagent app also introduces a set of mood sliders Sensual, Tender, Happy, Angry, and Tempo that can be adjusted to change the tone and vibe of the playlist.

The Moodagent India offices will be based in Delhi and Mumbai. The service is available at a monthly subscription of Rs 119 per month with a free trial of 14 days.

"The pandemic has redefined the listening space in India, making it well on its way to becoming one of the world's leading music markets, and we definitely see the launch of Moodagent fortifying that positioning. Moodagent is well poised to revolutionise the music industry with our technology at the centre of it all," Handa said.