In celebration of hitting 3 million downloads in less than a week, online music streaming platform YouTube Music hosted a music night with the Indian music fraternity.
Artists including Taufiq Qureshi, Akriti Kakkar, Alka Yagnik, Anirudh Ravichander, Badshah, Guru Randhawa and Harshdeep Kaur performed at the celebration here on Monday.
International music sensation Alan Walker also surprised the audience with his performance.
“Our tremendous scale and reach is why many talented artists and creators across India come to YouTube to share their voice with the world,” said Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube.
“It’s why we’re seeing Indian artists connect with fans from Delhi to New York and everywhere in between.”
Wojcicki noted that by 2020, it is expected that 500 million internet users in India will consume online video both, for entertainment, sharing and learning.
“We are incredibly excited to partner with Indian artists and labels to grow faster and go further,” said Lyor Cohen, Global Head of Music for YouTube.
Other senior executives from music labels and prominent personalities from the Indian music fraternity such as Javed Akhtar also marked their presence in YouTube Music’s celebration.
To take on other music streaming platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, JioSaavn and Gaana, YouTube launched its paid service called YouTube Premium and its music streaming app, YouTube Music, in India earlier in March.
YouTube Premium, that costs Rs 129 a month, also includes membership to YouTube Music Premium, offering users ad-free services, background play and offline download feature.