Business Models in the Music Streaming Industry: A Critical Review of Literature on the Role of Audio Advertising

Abstract

This paper aims to explore advertising on music streaming platforms as an opportunity for brands to advertise in India by studying users’ attitudes towards advertisements while listening to music on these platforms. The paper is an outcome of reviewing several published journals and articles referring to music streaming services, their revenue models, and their impact on consumer listening behaviors. The paper presents an overview of the music industry’s evolution, the piracy issues involved, and revenue models of music streaming platforms; free streaming and paid/premium models. It discusses the music consumption behavior of users and the effect of audio advertising on the platform. Finally, the paper emphasizes the targeting and personalization of ads. The research only concentrates on the Indian consumer of music streaming platforms and is limited to advertising on India’s streaming platforms. The paper critically examines India’s potentially growing industry – the audio streaming industry, which has not been previously reviewed. It studies the users of music streaming platforms in India to conclude their listening patterns and behavior towards ads on the platform and further research.