Saavn's music app for iOS comes out of beta; Co claims 1 lakh downloads in first month

Saavn (South Asian Audio Video Network), a US-based free Indian digital music service and one of the Techcircle Fastrack 2012 winners, has launched its music app for the iOS platform. The company has already released the beta version in select markets in March 2012. The app is free, works on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, and is available for download from iTunes store.

The app also adapts to and remembers user preferences (users can 'like' or 'dislike' songs), and adjusts its selection accordingly. Users can also listen to radio stations (offered by the app) or create their own stations, which are basically customised playlists.

According to Saavn, the app has seen 1 lakh downloads during the first month and more than half-a-million of 'customised' Internet radio stations have been created by users. The company also claims that iOS users are streaming over 18 million songs per month and the average user engagement via mobile amounts to more than three hours every month.

The startup offers an ad-supported digital music service, globally available on the Web, iOS and Android platforms. Saavn's extensive catalogue of Bollywood, Indian and South Asian music has been licensed by 200-plus content providers. The service also provides dynamic audio bitrate adjustment for better streaming on any connection (EDGE, GPRS, 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi).

Saavn was founded as BODVOD Networks in 2006 by Vin Bhat, Neal Shenoy and Paramdeep Singh, in a partnership between New York-based parent company 212Media (also founded by the trio), Indian company Hungama and Schramm Sports & Entertainment, Inc.

Other key players in this domain include Gaana.com, MusicIndiaOnline and Raaga.com.

The company had earlier launched its music service on Facebook and released new updates to its Android app. In March this year, Saavn also announced that its active users worldwide (across Web, iOS and Android platforms) had crossed the 9.3 million mark and this number could be well over 10 million now. The company is currently developing its music products for Java (J2ME), Symbian, BlackBerry and Windows mobile platforms.