CUE THE SITARS: APPLE HEADS EAST

Apple Music is expanding its reach in India, and Team Cook is planning on bringing the country’s music to the global stage, according to Eddy Cue.

During an interview with India’s Economic Times, Apple’s SVP of Internet Software and Services detailed the tech company’s intentions for the largely untapped market.

The streamery is already working with new and existing artists to start the process of expanding India’s musical reach globally as well as bringing Apple Music to more Indian households, Cue told interviewer TV Mahalingam. To that end, a discounted student subscription and family subscription plans have been rolled out, along with what Cue called Apple Music’s “most aggressive price point” to get consumers on board.

According to Cue, the final steps in bringing streaming to India’s masses will be content-driven. He referenced the Apple Music doc on Harry Styles self-titled solo album, Behind the Album, and indicated that the Indian market will be introduced to similar opportunities. “Those are the ways in which you reach people,” said Cue. “It’s always about the music first, and then there are the features and functions that help.”

Cue also discussed India’s future with Apple TV, Apple Pay and the full gambit of the tech giant’s other products. There were explicit assurances of keeping the Indian market at the forefront of development and enhancement of products—the perceived lack of this consideration on Apple’s behalf having been criticized in the past. You can read the full interview here.